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\-v;fk-PROMETHEU-S-. 


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2057148 


ARGUMENT. 

In  the  old  time,  when  Cronos  was  sovereign  of 
the  Gods,  Zeus,  whom  he  had  begotten,  rose 
up  against  hitn^  and  the  Gods  were  divided 
in  their  counsels,  soniey  the  Titaiis  chiefly, 
siding  with  the  father^  and  some  with  the 
son.  And  Prometheus,  the  son  of  Earth  or 
Themis,  though  one  of  the  Titans^  sup- 
ported Zeus,  as  did  also  Okeanos,  and  by 
his  counsels  Zeus  obtaijied  the  victory,  and 
Cronos  was  chained  in  Tartar os,  and  the 
Tita?is  buried  under  mountains,  or  kept  in 
bonds  in  Hades.  And  then  Prometheus, 
seeing  the  miseries  of  the  race  of  men,  of 
whom  Zeus  took  little  heed,  stole  the  fire 
which  till  then  had  belonged  to  none  but 
HephcEstos  and  was  used  only  for  the  Gods, 
and  gave  it  to  ma?ikind,  and  taught  them 
many  arts  luhereby  their  wretchedness  was 
lessened.  But  Zeus  being  wroth  with  Pro- 
metheus for  this  deed,  sent  Hephcpstos^ 
ivith  his  two  helpers,  Strength  and  Force, 
to  fetter  him  to  a  rock  on  Caucasos, 

And  in  yet  another  story  was  the  cruelty 
of  the  Gods  made  known.     For  Zeus  loved 
3 


4  iprometbeus  JSounD 

/<?,  the  daughter  of  Inachos,  king  o/Argos, 
and  she  zuas  haunted  by  virions  of  the 
night,  telling  her  of  his  passion,  and  she 
told  her  father  thereof.  And  Inachos, 
sending  to  tlie  God  at  Delphi,  was  told  to 
drive  lo  forth  from  her  home.  And  Zeus 
gave  her  the  horns  of  a  cow,  and  Hera, 
who  hated  her  because  she  was  dear  to 
Zeus,  sent  with  her  a  gadfly  that  stung  her, 
and  gave  her  no  rest,  and  drove  her  over 
many  lands. 

iVi?^^— The  play  is  believed  to  have  been  the  second 
of  a  Trilogy,  of  which  the  first  was  Prometheus  the 
Fire-giver^  and  the  third  Prometheus  Unbound. 


f 


Dramatis  ipersona^. 

Promethkus. 

Okeanos. 

Heph^stos. 

Hermes. 

Strength. 

Force. 

Chorus  of  Ocean  Nymphs, 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

Scene. — Skythia,  07i  the  heights  of  Caucasos. 
The  Euxine  seen  in  the  distance. 

Enter  Heph^stos,  Strength,  and  Force, 
leading  Prometheus  in  chains} 

Strength.  Lol  to  a  plain,  earth's  boundary 

remote, 
We    now  are   come, — the    tract    as    Skythian 

known, 
A  desert  inaccessible  :  and  now, 
Hephyestos,  it  is  thine  to  do  the  bests 
The  Father  gave  thee,  to  these  lofty  crags 
To  bind  this  crafty  trickster  fast  in  chains 
Of  adamantine  bonds  that  none  can  break  ; 
For  he  thy  choice  flower  stealing,  the  bright 

glory 
Of  fire  that  all  arts  spring  from,  hath  bestowed  it 
On  mortal  men.     And  so  for  fault  like  this 
He  now  must  pay  the  Gods  due  penalty. 
That  he  may  learn  to  bear  the  sovereign  rule 
Of  Zeus,  and  cease  from  his  philanthropy. 


See  note  i  on  page  63. 


8  prometbcus  JSounD 

Heph.  O  Strength,  and  thou,  O  Force,  the 
hest  of  Zeus, 
As  far  as  touches  you,  attains  its  end, 
And  nothing  hinders.    Yet  my  courage  fails 
To  bind  a  God  of  mine  own  kin  by  force 
To  this  bare  rock  where  tempests  wildly  sweep  ; 
And  yet  I  needs  must  muster  courage  for  it : 
'Tis  no  slight  thing  the  Father's  words  to  scorn. 

0  thou  of  Themis  \to  Promutheus]  wise  iu 

counsel  son, 
Full  deep  of  purpose,  lo  !  against  my  will,^ 

1  fetter  thee  against  thy  will  with  bonds 

Of  bronze  that  none  can  loose,  to  this  lone  height, 
Where  thou  shalt  know  nor  voice  nor  face  of 

man, 
But  scorching  in  the  hot  blaze  of  the  sun, 
Shalt  lose  thy  skin's  fair  beauty.    Thou  shalt 

long 
For  starry-mantled  night  to  hide  day's  sheen, 
For  sun  to  melt  the  rime  of  early  dawn  ; 
And  evermore  the  weight  of  present  ill 
Shall  wear  thee  down.     Unborn  as  yet  is  he 
Who   shall   release   thee :    this   the  fate   thou 

gain'st 
As  due  reward  for  thy  philanthropy. 
For  thou,  a  God  not  fearing  wrath  of  Gods, 
In  thy  transgression  gav'st  their  power  to  men ; 
And  therefore  on  this  rock  of  little  ease 


See  note  2  on  page  63. 


promctbeus  JBounO  9 

Tiiou  still  sbalt  keep  thy  watch,  nor  lyin^  down, 
Nor  knowing  sleep,  nor  ever  bending  knee  ; 
And  many  groans  and  wailmgs  profitless 
Tiiy  lips  shall  utter  ;  for  the  mind  of  Zeus 
Remains  inexorable.     Who  holds  a  power 
But  newly  gained^  is  ever  stern  of  mood. 

Streyigth.  Let  be  !  Why  linger  in  this  idle  pity  ? 
Why  dost  not  hate  a  God  to  Gods  a  foe, 
Who  gave  thy  choicest  prize  to  mortal  men  ? 
Heph.  Strange    is    the    power    of   kin    and 

intercourse.* 
Strength.  I  own  it ;  yet  to  slight  the  Father's 
words, 
How  may  that  be  ?     Is  not  that  fear  the  worse  ? 
Heph.     St  11    art      thou     ruthless,     full     of 

savagery. 
Strength,    There    is    no    help   in     weeping 
over  him: 
Spend  not  thy  toil  on  things  that  profit  not. 
Heph.    O  handicraft  to  me  intolerable  ! 
Strength.     Why  loath'st  thou  it?  Of  these 
thy  present  griefs 
That  craft  of  thme  is  not  one  whit  the  cause. 
Heph.     And   yet   I   would   some   other  had 

that  skill. 
Strength,      All    things    bring    toil     except 
for  Gods  to  reign; s 


See  notes  3,  4,  and  5  on  page  63. 


lo  iprometbcus  BounD 

For  none  but  Zeus  can  boast  of  freedom  true. 
Heph.   Too  well  I  see  the  proof,  and  gainsay 

not. 
Strength.    Wilt  thou  not  speed   to   fix  the 
chains  on  him, 
Lest  He,    the  Father,  see  thee  loitering  here  ? 
Heph.     Well,      here    the     handcuffs     thou 

may'st  see  prepared. 
Strength.     In  thine  hands  take  him.     Then 

with  all  thy  might 
Strike  with  thine  hammer  ;  nail  him  to  the 

rocks. 
Heph.  The  work  goes  on,  I  ween,  and  not  in 

vain. 
Strength.    Strike  harder,  rivet,  give  no  whit 
of  ease  : 
A  wondrous  knack  has  he  to  find  resource. 
Even  where  all  might  seem  to  baffle  him. 
Heph.     Lo  !   this  his  arm  is  fixed  inextrica- 
bly. 
Strength.    Now  rivet  thou  this  other    fast, 
that  he 
May  learn,  though  sharp,  that  he  than  Zeus  is 
duller. 
Heph.  No  one  but  he  could  justly  blame  my 

work. 
Strength.  Now  drive  the   stern   jaw  of  the 
adamant  wedge 
Right  through  his  chest  with  all  the  strength 
thou  hast. 


Iprometbeus  JBounD  n 

Heph.  Ah  me  !  Prometheus,  for  thy  woes  I 

groan. 
Strength.  Again,  thou  'rt  loth,    and    for   the 
foes  of  Zeus 
Thou  groanest :  take  good  heed  to  it  lest  thou 
Kre  long  with  cause  thyself  commiserate. 
Heph.  Thou  see'st  a  sight  unsightly  to  our 

eyes. 
Strength.  I  see  this  man  obtaining  his   de- 
serts : 
Nay,  cast  thy  breast-chains  round  about  his  ribs. 
Heph.  I  must  needs  doit.     Spare  thine  o'er 
much  bidding  ; 
Go  thou  below  and  rivet  both  his  legs, « 

StreJigth.  Nay,  I  will  bid  thee,  urge  thee  to 

thy  work. 
Heph.  There  it  is  done,  and  that  with  no  long 

toil. 
Strength.  Now  with  thy  full  power    fix   the 
galling  fetters  ; 
Thou  hast  a  steru  o'erlooker  of  thy  work. 

Heph.     Thy    tongue  but  utters  words    that 

match  thy  form,  i 
Strength.  Choose  thou  the  melting    mood  ; 
but  chide  not  me 
For  my  selfwill  and  wrath  and  ruthlessness. 
Heph.    Now  let   us  go,    h:s  limbs  are  bound 
in  chains. 


See  notes  6  and  7  on  page  63, 


12  iprometbeua  :ffiounD 

Strength.  Here  then  wax  proud,  and  stealing 
what  belongs 
To  the  Gods,   to  mortals   give   it.     What  can 

they 
Avail  to  rescue  thee  from  these  thy  woes  ? 
Falsely  the  Gods  have  given  thee  thy  name, 
Prometheus,    Forethought ;    forethought  thou 

dost  need 
To  free  thyself  from  this  rare  handiwork. 

\^Exeunt    Heph^stos,    Strength,   afid 
Force,  leaving  Prometheus  on  the  rock. 
Prom^     Thou  firmament  of  God,  and  swift- 
winged  w!ncs. 
Ye  springs  of  rivers,  and  of  ocean  waves 
That  smile  innumerous  !      Mother  of  us  all, 

0  Earth,  and  Sun's  all- seeing  eye,  behold, 

1  pray,  what  I  a  God  from  Gods  endure. 

Behold  in  wh  '^  '"oi!  rase 

I  for  ten  thousand  years 

Shall  struggle  in  my  woe, 

In  these  unseemly  chains. 
Such  doom  the  new-made  Monarch  of  the  Blest 

Hath  now  devised  for  me. 
Woe,  woe  !  The  present  and  the  oncoming  pang 

I  wail,  as  I  search  out 
The  place  and  hour  when  end  of  all  these  ills 

Shall  dawn  on  me  at  last. 

See  note  8  on  page  64. 


prometbeuB  JBounO  13 

What  say  I  ?     All  too  clearly  I  foresee 

The  things  that  come,  and  nou;-^ht  of  pain  shall 

be 
By  me  unlooked-for  ;  but  I  needs  must  bear 
My  destiny  as  best  I  may,  knowing  well 
Tlie  might  resistless  of  Necessity. 
And  neither  may  I  speak  of  this  my  fate, 
Nor  hold  my  peace.     For  I,  poor  I,  through 

giving 
Great  gifts  to  mortal  men,  am  prisoner  made 
In  these  fast  fetters  ;  yea,  in  fennel  stalk' 
I  snatched  the  hidden  spring  of  stolen  fire, 
Which  is  to  men  a  teacher  of  all  arts, 
Their  chief  resource.     And  now  this  penalty 
Of  that  offence  I  pay,  fast  riveted 
In  chains  beneath  the  open  firmament. 

Ha!  ha!     What  now? 
What  sound,  what  odour  floats  invisibly  ?  '° 
Is  it  of  (iod  or  man,  or  blending  both  ? 
And  has  one  come  to  this  remotest  rock 
To  look  upon  my  woes  ?     Or  what  wills  he  ? 
Behold  me  bound,  a  God  to  evil  doomed, 

The  foe  of  Zeus,  and  held 

In  hatred  by  all  Gods 

Who  tread  the  courts  of  Zeus  : 

And  this  for  my  great  love. 

Too  great,  for  mortal  men. 

Ah  me!  what  rustling  sounds 


See  notes  9  and  10  on  page  T4. 


14  iprometbeus  :©ounD 

Hear  I  of  birds  not  far  ? 

With  the  light  whirr  of  wings 

The  air  re-echoeth  : 
All  that  draws  nigh  to  me  is  cause  of  fear,  n 
Enter  Chorus  <?/"  Ocean  Nj^mphs,  with  wings, 

floating  in  the  air  " 
Chor.  Nay,  fear  thou  nought :  in  love 

All  our  array  of  wings 

In  eager  race  hath  come 
To  this  high  peak,  full  hardly  gaining  o'er 

Our  Father's  miud  and  will ; 
And  the  swift-rushing  breezes  bore  me  on  : 
Forlo!  the  echoing  sound  of  blows  on  iron 
Pierced  to  our  cave's  recess,  and  put  to  flight 

My  shamefast  modesty. 
And  I  in  unshod  haste,  on  winged  car, 

To  thee  rushed  hitherward. 
Prom,  Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 

Offspring  of  Tethys  blest  with  many  a  child, 
Daughters  of  Old  Okeanos  that  rolls 
Round  all  the  earth  with  never-sleeping  stream. 

Behold  ye  me,  and  see 

With  what  chains  fettered  fast, 
I  on  the  topmost  crags  of  this  ravine 
Shall  keep  my  sentry-post  unenviable. 

Chor.  I  see  it,  O  Prometheus,  and  a  mist 
Of  fear  and  full  of  tears  comes  o'er  mine  eyes. 

Thy  fame  beholding  thus, 


See  notes  ii  and  12  on  page  64. 


prometbeus  JGounD  15 

Writhing  on  these  high  recks 

In  adamantine  ills. 
New  pilots  now  o'er  high  Olympos  rule, 

And  with  new-fashioned  laws 

Zeus  reigns,  down-trampling  right. 
And  all  the  ancient  powers  He  sweeps  away. 
Prom,  Ah  !    would   that   'neath   the    Earth, 
'neath  Hades,  too. 
Home  of  the  dead,  far  down  to  Tartaros 
Unfathomable  He  in  fetters  fast 

In  wrath  had  hurled  me  down  : 

So  neither  had  a  God 
Nor  any  other  mocked  at  these  my  woes  ; 
But  now,  the  wretched  plaything  of  the  winds, 
I  suffer  ill  at  which  my  foes  rejoice. 

Chor.     Nay,  which  of  all  the  Gods 
Is  so  hard-hearted  as  to  joy  in  this  ? 
Who,  Zeus  excepted,  doth  not  pity  thee 

In  these  thine  ills  ?  But  He, 

Ruthless,  with  soul  unbent, 
Subdues  the  heavenly  host,  nor  will  He  cease.*' 
Until  his  heart  be  satiate  with  power 
Or  some  one  seize  with  subtle  stratagem 
The  sovran  might  that  so  resistless  seemed. 
Proin.  Nay,  of  a  truth,  though   put  to   evil 
shame. 

In  massive  fetters  bound, 

The  Ruler  of  the  Gods 


See  note  13  on  page  64. 


i6  prometbeus  SounD 

Shall  yet  have  need  of  me,  yes,  e'en  of  me, 

To  tell  the  counsel  new 

That  seeks  to  strip  from  him 
His  sceptre  and  his  might  of  sovereignty. 

In  vain  will  He  with  words 

Or  suasion's  honeyed  charms 

Sooth  me,  nor  will  I  tell 

Through  fear  of  his  stern  threats, 

Ere  He  shall  set  me  free 

From  these  my  bonds,  and  make, 

Of  his  own  choice,  amends 

For  all  these  outrages. 
Chor.     Full  rash  art  thou,  and  yield'st 
In  not  a  jot  to  bitterest  form  of  woe  ; 
Thou  art  o'er-free  and  reckless  in  thy  speech 

But  piercing  fear  hath  stirred 

My  inmost  soul  to  strife  ; 
For  I  fear  greatly  touching  thy  distress, 
As  to  what  haven  of  these  woes  of  thine 
Thou  now  must  steer :  the  son  of  Cronos  hath 

A  stubborn  mood  and  heart  inexorable. 
Prom.  I  know  that  Zeus  is  hard, 
And  keeps  the  Right  supremely  to  himself  ; 

But  then,  I  trow,  He  '11  be 

Full  pliant  in  h:s  will, 

When  He  is  thus  crushed  down. 

Then,  calming  down  his  mood 

Of  hard  and  bitter  wrath, 

He  '11  hasten  unto  me, 


IPromecbeus  JBounD  17 

As  I  to  bim  shall  haste, 

For  friendship  and  for  peace. 
Chor.  Hide  it  not  from  us,  tell  us  all  the  tale  : 
I'or  vvhat  offence  Zeus,  having  seized  thee  thus, 
vSo  wantonly  and  bitterly  insults  thee  : 
If  the  tale  hurt  thee  not,  inform  thou  us. 

Prom.  Painful  are  these  things  to  me  e'en  to 

speak  ; 
Painful  is  silence  ;  everywhere  is  woe. 
For  when  the  high  Gods  fell  on  mood  of  wrath. 
And  hot  debate  of  mutual  strife  was   stirred, 
Some  wishing  to  hurl  Cronos  from  his  throne. 
That  Zeus,  forsooth,  might  reign  ;  while  others 

strove, 
Eager  that  Zeus  might  never  rule  the  Gods  : 
Then  I,  full  strongly  seeking  to  persuade 
The  Titans,  yea,  the  sons  of  Heaven  and  Earth, 
Failed  of  my  purpose.     Scorning  subtle  arts. 
With  counsels  violent,  they  thought  that  they 
By  force  would  gain  full  easy  mastery. 
But  then  not  once  or  twice  my  mother  Themis 
And   Earth,  one  form    though   bearing   many 

names,  »♦ 
Ha  I  prophesied  the  future,  how  '  t  would  run, 
That  not  by  strength  nor  yet  by  violence, 
But  guile,  should  those  who  prospered  gain  the 

day. 
And  when  in  my  words  I  this  counsel  gave. 


See  note  14  on  page  64. 

f 


i8  iprometbeus  JBounD 

They  deigned  not  e'en  to  glance  at  it  at  all. 
And  then  of  all  that  offered,  it  seemed  best 
To  join  my  mother,  and  of  mine  own  will, 
Not  against  his  will,  take  my  side  wnth  Zeus, 
And  by  my  counsels,  mine,  the  dark  deep  pit 
Of  Tartaros  the  ancient  Cronos  holds. 
Himself  and  his  allies.     Thus  profiting 
By  me,  the  mighty  ruler  of  the  Gods 
Repays  me  with  these  evil  penalties  : 
For  somehow  this  disease  in  sovereignty 
Inheres,  of  never  trusting  to  one's  friends,  u 
And  since  ye  ask  me  under  what  pretence 
He  thus  maltreats  me,  I  will  show  it  you  : 
For  as  soon  as  He  upon  his  father's  throne 
Had  sat  secure,  forthwith  to  divers  Gods 
He  divers  gifts  distributed,  and  his  realm 
Began  to  order.     But  of  mortal  men 
He  took  no  heed,  but  purposed  utterly 
To  crush  their  race  and  plant  another  new ; 
And,  I  excepted,  none  dared  cross  his  will ; 
But  I  did  dare,  and  mortal  men  I  fread 
From  passing  on  to  Hades  thunder-stricken  ; 
And  therefore  am  I  bound  beneath  these  woes, 
Dreadful  to  suffer,  pitiable  to  see  : 
And  I,  who  in  my  pity  thought  of  men 
More    than    myself,    have    not   been    worthy 

deemed 
To  gain  like  favour,  but  all  ruthlessly 


See  note  15  on  page  65. 


IPrometbcus  JGounD  19 

I  thus   am  chained,  foul  shame  this  sight  to 

Zeus, 
Chor.    Iron-hearted  must  he  be  and  made  of 

rock 
Who  is  not  moved,  Prometheus,  by  thy  woes  : 
I'ain    could  I    wish    I    ne'er   had    seen    such 

things, 
And,  seeing  them,  am  wounded  to  the  heart. 
Prom,  Yea,  I  am  piteous   for  my  friends  to 

see. 
Chor.  Did'st  thou  not  go   to  farther  lengths 

than  this  ? 
Prom.  I  made  men  cease   from  contemplat- 
ing death.  >6 
Chor.  What   medicine   did'st   thou  find    for 

that  disease  ? 
Prom.     Blind  hopes  I  gave  to  live  and  dwell 

with  them. 
Chor.   Great    service    that    thou    did'st    for 

mortal  men  ! 
Prom.  And  more  than  that,  I  gave  them  fire, 

yes  I. 
Chor.  Do   short-lived   men  the   flaming  fire 

possess  ? 
Prom.  Yea,    and  full  many   an   art   they  '11 

learn  from  it. 
Chor.  And  is  it  then  on  charges  such  as  these 
That  Zeus  maltreats  thee,  and  no  respite  gives 


See  note  i6  on  page   65. 


20  iprometbeue  J6ounD 

Of  many  woes  ?     And  has  thy  pain  no  end  ? 
Prom.  End  there  is  none,   except  as  pleases 

Him. 
Chor.  How  shall  it  please  ?    What  hope  hast 

thou  ?     See'st  not 
That  thou  hast  sinned  ?     Yet  to  say  how  thou 

sinned'st 
Gives  me  no  pleasure,  and  is  pain  to  thee. 
Well  !  let  us  leave  these  things,  and,  if  we  may, 
Seek  out  some  means  to  'scape  from  this  thy 

woe. 
Prom.  'Tis  a  light  thing  for  one  who  has  his 

foot 
Beyond  the  reach  of  evil  to  exhort 
And  counsel  him  who  suffers.     This  to  me 
Was  all  well  known.     Yea,  willing,  willingly 
I  sinned,  nor  will  deny  it.    Helping  men, 
I  for  myself  found  trouble  :  yet  I  thought  not 
That  I  with  such  dread  penalties  as  these 
Should   wither    here   on    these    high-towering 

crags. 
Lighting  on  this  lone  hill  and  neighbourless. 
Wherefore  wail  not  for  these  my  present  woes. 
But,  drawing  nigh,  my  coming  fortunes  hear. 
That  ye  may  learn  the  whole  tale  to  the  end. 
Nay,  hearken,  hearken  ;  show  your  sympathy 
With  him  who  suffers  now.    'T  is  thus  that  woe, 
Wandering,  now  falls  on  this  one,  now  ou  that. 
Chor.  Not    to  unwilling   hearers  hast  thou 
uttered, 


promctbeus  JBoimO  ji 

Prometheus,  thy  request, 
Aud  now  with  nimble  foot  abaudonin^ 

My  swiftly  rushing  car, 
Aud  the  pure  aether,  path  of  birds  of  heaven, 
I  will  draw  uear  this  rouo;h  and  rocky  land, 

For  much  do  I  desire 
To  hear  this  tale,  full  measure,  of  thy  woes. 

Enter  Okeanos,  on  a  car  drawn  by  a  winged 
gryphon. 

Okean.  Lo,  I  come  to  thee,  Prometheus, 
Reaching  goal  of  distant  journey, ' ' 
Guiding  this  my  winged  courser 
By  my  will,  without  a  bridle ; 
Aud  thy  sorrows  move  my  pity. 
Force,  in  part,  I  deem,  of  kindred 
Leads  me  on,  nor  know  I  any, 
Whom,  apart  from  kin,  I  honour 
More  than  thee,  in  fuller  measure. 
This  thou  shalt  own  true  and  earnest: 
I  deal  not  in  glozing  speeches. 
Come  then,  tell  me  how  to  help  thee: 
Ne'er  shalt  thou  say  that  one  more  friendly 
Is  found  than  unto  thee  is  Okean. 
Prom.  Let  be.    What  boots  it?     Thou  then 
too  art  come 
To  gaze  upon  my  suflferings.     How  did'st  dare 


See  note  17  on  page  65, 


22  iprometbeus  JSounD 

lyeaving  the  stream  that  bears  thy  name,  aud 

caves 
Hewn  in  the  living  rock,  this  land  to  visit, 
Mother  of  iron  ?     What  then,  art  thou  come 
To  gaze  upon  my  fall  and  offer  pity  ? 
Behold  this  sight:  see  here  the  friend  of  Zeus, 
Who  helped  to  seat  him  in  his  sovereignty, 
With  what  foul  outrage  I  am  crushed  by  him  ! 
Okean.  I  see,  Prometheus,  and  I  wish  to  give 

thee 
My  best  advice,  all  subtle  though  thou  be. 
Know  thou  thyself,  18  aud  fit  thy  soul  to  moods 
To  thee  full  new.     New  king  the  Gods  have 

now; 
But  if  thou  utter  words  thus  rough  and  sharp, 
Perchance,  though  sitting  far  away  on  high, 
Zeus  yet  may  hear  thee,  and  his  present  wrath 
Seem  to  thee  but  as  child's  play  of  distress. 
Nay,  thou  poor  sufferer,  quit  the  rage  thou  hast. 
And  seek  a  remedy  for  these  thine  ills. 
A  tale  thrice-told,  perchance,  I  seem  to  speak: 
lyO  !  this,  Prometheus,  is  the  punishment 
Of  thine  o'er  lofty  speech,  nor  art  thou  yet 
Humbled,  nor  yieldest  to  thy  miseries. 
And  fain  would'st  add  fresh  evils  unto  these. 
But  thou,  if  thou  wilt  take  me  as  thy  teacher, 
Wilt  not  kick  out  against  the  pricks;  i^  seeing 

well 


See  notes  i8  and  19  on  page  65. 


Iprometbeus  JBounO  23 

A  monarch  reigns  who  gives  account  to  none. 
And  now  I  go,  and  will  an  effort  make, 
If  I,  perchance,  may  free  thee  from  thy  woes; 
Be  still  then,  hush  thy  petulance  of  speech, 
Or  knowest  thou  not,  o'er-clever  as  thou  art. 
That  idle  tongues  must  still  their  forfeit  pay? 

Prom.   I  envy  thee,  seeing  thou  art  free  from 
blame 
Though  thou  shared'st  all,   and   in   my  cause 

wast  bold ;  '^'^ 
Nay,  let  me  be,  nor  trouble  thou  thyself; 
Thou  wilt  not,  canst  not  soothe  Him  ;  very  hard 
Is  He  of  soothing.     Look  to   it  thyself. 
Lest  thou  some  mischief  meet  with  in  the  way. 

Okean.  It  is  thy  wont  thy  neighbour's  minds 
to  school 
Far  better  than    thine  own.     From  deeds,  not 

words, 
I  draw  my  proof.     But  do  not  draw  me  back 
When  I  am  hasting  on,  for  lo,  I  deem, 
I  deem  that  Zeus  will  grant  this  boon  to  me. 
That  I  should  free  thee  from  these  woes  of  thine. 

Prom.  I  thank  thee  much,    yea,    ne'er   will 
cease  to  thank  ; 
For  thou  no  whit  of  zeal  dost  lack  ;  yet  take, 
I  pray  no  trouble  for  me  ;  all  in  vain 
Thy  trouble,  nothing  helping,  e'en  if  thou 


5ee  note  3o  on  page  65. 


24  iprometbcus  JSounD 

Should'st  care  to  take  the  trouble.     Nay,  be 

still ; 
Keep  out  of  barm's  way  ;  sufferer  though  I  be, 
I  would  not  therefore  wish  to  give  my  woes 
A  wider  range  o'er  others.     No,  not  so  : 
For  lo  !  my  mind  is  wearied  with  the  grief 
Of  that  my  kinsman  Atlas,  21  who  doth  stand 
In  the  far  West,  supporting  on  his  shoulders 
The  pillars  of  the  earth  and  heaven,  a  burden 
His  arms  can  ill  but  hold  :  I  pity  too 
The  giant  dweller  of  Kilikian  caves, 
Dread  portent,  with  his  hundred  hands,  subdued 
By  force,  the  mighty  Typhon2  2  who  arose 
'Gainst  all  the  Gods,  with  sharp  and   dreadful 

jaws 
Hissing  out  slaughter,  and  from  out  his  eyes 
There  flashed  the  terrible  brightness  as  of  one 
Who  would  lay  low  the  sovereignty  of  Zeus. 
But  the  unsleeping  dart  of  Zeus  came  on  him, 
Down-swooping  thunderbolt  that  breathes  out 

flame. 
Which  from  his  lofty  boastings  startled  him. 
For  he  i'  the  heart  was  struck,  to  ashes  burnt, 
His  strength  all  thunder  shattered  ;  and  he  lies 
A  helpless,  powerless  carcase,  near  the  strait 
Of  the  great  sea,  f-^st  pressed  beneath  the  roots 
Of  ancient  ^tua,  where  on  highest  peak 


I 


See  notes  21  and  22  on  page  65. 


promctbcua  JBounD  25 

Hephsestos  sits  and  smites  his  iron  red-hot, 
From   whence  hereafter  streams   of  fire  shall 

burst,  2  3 
Devouring  with  fierce  jaws  the  golden  plains 
Of  fruitful,  fair  Sikelia.     Such  the  wrath 
That  Typhon  shall   belch   forth  with  bursts  of 

storm, 
Hot,  breathing  fire,  and  unapproachable. 
Though  burnt  and  charred  by  thunderbolts  of 

Zeus. 
Not  inexperienced  art  thou,  nor  dost  need 
My  teaching  :  save  thyself,  as  thou  know'st  how; 
And  I  will  drink  my  fortune  to  the  dregs. 
Till  from  his  wrath  the  mind  of  Zeus  shall  rest.24 
Okcan.   Know'st  thou  not  this,  Pron:etheus, 
even  this. 
Of  wrath's  disease  wise  words  the  healers  are  ? 
Prom.    Yea,    could  one  soothe  the  troubled 
heart  in  time, 
Nor  seek  by  force  to  tame  the  soul's  proud  flesh. 
Okean.  But  in    due   forethought   with   bold 
daring  blent. 
What  mischief  see'st  thou  lurking  ?     Tell  me 
this. 
Prom.  Toil  bootless,  and  simplicity  full  fond. 
Okeati.  Let  me,  I  pray,  that  sickness  suffer, 
since 


See  notes  23  and  24  on  page  66. 


26  ipromctbeus  BoimD 

'Tis  best  being  wise  to  have  not  wisdom's  show. 
Prom.  Nay,  but  this  error  shall  be  deemed 

as  mine. 
Okean.  Thy  word  then  clearly  sends  me  home 

at  once. 
Prom.  Yea,    lest   thy    pity    for   me  make  a 

foe.   .   .   . 
Okean.  What !  of  that  new  king  on  his  mighty 

throne? 
Prom.  Ivook  to  it,   lest  his  heart  be  vexed 

with  thee. 
Okean.  Thy  fate,    Prometheus,    teaches   me 

that  lesson. 
Prom.  Away,  withdraw  !  keep  thou  the  mind 

thou  hast. 
Okean.  Thou  urgest  me  who  am  in  act  to 
haste ; 
For  this  my  bird  four-footed  flaps  with  wings 
The  clear  path  of  the  aether  ;  and  full  fain 
Would  he  bend  knee  in  his  own  stall  at  home. 

{_Exit. 

STROPH.   I 

Chor.  I  grieve,  Prometheus,  for  thy  dreary  fate 
Shedding  from  tender  eyes 
The  dew  of  plenteous  tears  ; 
With  streams,  as  when  the  watery  south  wind 
blows, 
My  cheek  is  wet ; 


promctbcus  JBounD  27 

For  lo  !  these  things  are  all  unenviable, 

And  Zeus,  by  his  own  laws  his  sway  maintaining, 

Shows  to  the  elder  Gods 

A  mood  of  haughtiness. 

ANTISTROPH.   I 

And  all  the  country  echoeth  with  the  moan, 

And  poureth  many  a  tear 

For  that  maguific  power 
Of  ancient  days  far-seen  that  thou  did'st  share 

With  those  of  one  blood  sprung ; 
And  all  the  mortal  men  who  hold  the  plain 
Of  holy  Asia  as  their  land  of  sojourn, 

They  grieve  in  sympathy 

For  thy  woes  lamentable. 

STROPH.  II 

And  they,  the  maiden  band  who  find  their  home 
On  distant  Colchian  coasts, 
Fearless  of  fight,  25 

Or  Skythiau  horde  in  earth's  remotest  clime, 
By  far  Maeotic  lake  ;  26 

ANTISTROPH.  U 

And  warlike  glory  of  Arabia's  tribes,  2' 

Who  nigh  to  Caucasos 

In  rock-fort  dwell. 
An  army  fearful,  with  sharp-pointed  spear 


See  notes  25,  26  and  27  on  page  66. 


28  promctbeus  :J6oiinD 

Raging  in  war's  array. 

STROPH.    Ill 

One  other  Titan  only  have  I  seen, 

One  other  of  the  Gods, 
Thus  bound  in  woes  of  adamantine  strength — 

Atlas,  who  ever  groans 
Beneath  the  burden  of  a  crushing  might, 

The  out-spread  vault  of  heaven. 

ANTISTROPH     III 

And  lo  !  the  ocean  billows  murmur  loud 
In  one  accord  with  him  ;  ^s 

The  sea-depths  groan,  and  Hades'  swarthy  pit 
Re-echoeth  the  sound, 

And  fountains  of  clear  rivers,  as  they  flow, 
Bewail  his  bitter  griefs. 
Prom.  Think  not  it  is  through  pride  or  stiff 
self-will 

That  I  am  silent.     But  my  heart  is  worn, 

Self-contemplating,  as  I  see  myself 

Thus  outraged.     Yet  what  other  hand  than  mine 

Gave  these  young  Gods  in  fulness  all  their  gifts? 

But  these  I  speak  not  of;  for  I  should  tell 

To  you  that  know  them.     But  those  woes    of 
men^^ 

List  ye  to  them, — how  they,  before  as  babes, 


See  notes  28  and  29  on  page  66. 


prometbeus  JBounO  29 

By  me  were  roused  to  reason,  taught  to  think  ; 
And  this  I  say,  not  finding  fault  with  men. 
But  showing  my  good-will  in  all  I  gave. 
For  first,  though  seeing,  all  in  vain  they  saw, 
And   hearing,    heard    not   rightly.      But,    like 

forms 
Of   phantom-dreams,    throughout     their    life's 

whole  length 
They  muddled  all  at  random  ;  did  not  know 
Houses   of    brick     that   catch    the    sunlight's 

warmth, 
Nor  yet  the  work  of  carpentry.     They  dwelt 
In  hollowed  holes,  like  swarms  of  tiny  ants, 
In  sunless  depths  of  caverns  ;   and  they  had 
No  certain  signs  of  winter,  nor  of  spring 
Flower-laden,  nor  of  summer  with  her  fruits; 
But  without  counsel  fared  their  whole  lifelong, 
Until  I  showed  the  risings  of  the  stars, 
And  settings  hard  to  recognise. ^o     And  I 
Found  Number  for  them,  chief  device  of  all. 
Groupings  of  letters,  Memory's  handmaid  that, 
And   mother  of  the  Muses. ^i      And  I  first 
Bound  in  the  yoke  wild  steeds,  submissive  made 
Or  to  the  collar  or  men's  limbs,  that  so 
They  might  in  man's  place  bear  his  greatest 

toils  ; 
And  horses  trained  to  love  the  rein  I  yoked 


See  notes  30  and  31  on  page  f>6. 


30  iprometbeus  :©ounD 

To  chariots,  glory  of  wealth's  pride  of  state  ;  32 
Nor  was  it  any  one  but  I  that  found 
Sea-crossing,  canvas- winged  cars  of  ships  : 
Such  rare  designs  inventing  (  wretched  me  !  ) 
For  mortal  men,  I  yet  have  no  device 
By  which  to  free  myself  from  this  my  woe.^^ 
Chor.     Foul   shame  thou   suflFerest :  of  thy 

sense  bereaved, 
Thou  errest  greatly  :  and,  like  leech  unskilled. 
Thou  losest  heart  when  smitten  with  disease. 
And  know'st  not  how  to  find  the  remedies 
Wherewith  to  heal  thine  own  soul's  sicknesses. 
Prom.      Hearing  what  yet  remains   thou'lt 

wonder  more. 
What  arts  and  what  resources  I  devised  : 
And  this  the  chief:  if  any  one  fell  ill, 
There  was  no  help  for  him,  nor  healing  food, 
Nor  unguent,  nor  yet  potion  ;  but  for  want 
Of  drugs  they  wasted,  till  I  showed  to  them 
The  blendings  of  all  mild  medicaments, 3 4 
Wherewith  they  ward  the  attacks  of  sickness  sore 
I  gave  them  many  modes  of  prophecy  ;  ^s 
And  I  first  taught  them    what    dreams  needs 

must  prove 
True  visions,  and  made  known   the   ominous 

sounds 
Full  hard  to  know  ;  and  tokens  by  the  way, 


See  notes  32,  33,  34  and  35  on  pages  66  and  67. 


Ipromctbcus  :fi3ounD  31 

And  fli<^bts  of  taloued  birds  I  clearly  marked, — 
Those  on  the  right  propitious  to  mankind, 
And  those  sinister, — and  what  form  of  life 
They  each  maintain,  and  what  their  enmities 
Kach  with  the  other,  and  their  loves  and  friend- 

sliips  ; 
And  of  the  inward  parts  the  plumpness  smooth, 
And  with  what  colour  they    the   Gods  would 

please, 
And  the  streaked  comeliness  of  gall  and  liver  : 
And  with  burnt  limbs  en  wrapt  in  fat,  and  chine, 
I  led  men  on  to  art  full  difficult : 
And  I  gave  eyes  to  omens  drawn  from  fire, 
Till  then  dim-visioued.      So  far  then  for  this. 
And  'neath  the  earth  the  hidden  boons  for  men, 
Bronze,  iron,  silver,  gold,  who  else  could  say 
That  he,  ere  I  did,  found  them  ?     None,  I  know, 
Unless  he  fain  would  babble  idle  words. 
In  one  short  word,  then,  learn  the  truth  con- 
densed,— 
All  arts  of  mortals  from  Prometheus  spring. 

Chor.     Nay,  be  not  thou  to  men  so  overkind, 
While  thou  thyself  art  in  sore  evil  case  ; 
For  I  am  sanguine  that  thou  too,  released 
From  bonds,  shall  be  as  strong  as  Zeus  himself. 
Prom.     It  is  not  thus  that  Fate's  decree  is 
fixed  ; 
But  I,    long  crushed  with  twice  ten  thousand 
woes 


32  iprometbeus  :J6oimD 

And  bitter  pains,  shall  then  escape  my  bonds  ; 
Art  is  far  weaker  than  Necessit3\ 

Chor.     Who  guides  the  helm,  then,  of  Ne- 
cessity ? 
Prom.     Fates  triple- formed,  Erinnyes  un for- 
getting. 
Chor.     Is  Zeus,  then,  weaker  in   his   might 

than  these  ? 
Prom.     Not  even  He  can  'scape  the   thing 

decreed, 
Chor.     What  is  decreed  for  Zeus  but  still  to 

reign  ? 
Prom.      Thou   may'st  no  further  learn,  ask 

thou  no  more. 
Chor.     'T  is     doubtless  some    dread    secret 

which  thou  hidest. 
Prom.     Of  other  theme  make  mention,  for 
the  time 
Is  not  yet  come  to  utter  this,  but  still 
It  must  be  hidden  to  the  uttermost  ; 
For  by  thus  keeping  it  it  is  that  I 
Escape  my  bondage  foul,  and  these  my  pains. 

STROPH.  I 

Chor.     Ah  !  ne'er  may  Zeus  the  Lord, 
Whose  sovran  sway  rules  all, 
His  strength  in  conflict  set 
Against  my  feeble  will  ! 
Nor  may  I  fail  to  serve 


prometbeus  JiSounD  33 

The  Gods  with  holy  feast 
Of  whole  burnt-offerings, 
Where  the  stream  ever  flows 
That  bears  my  father's  name, 
The  great  Okeanos  ! 
Nor  may  I  sin  in  speech  ' 
May  this  grace  more  and  more 
Sink  deep  into  my  soul 
And  never  fade  away  ! 

ANTISTROPH.    I 

Sweet  is  it  in  strong  hope 
To  spend  long  years  of  life, 
With  bright  and  cheering  joy 
Our  heart's  thoughts  nourishing. 
I  shudder,  seeing  thee 
Thus  vexed  and  harassed  sore 
By  twice  ten  thousand  woes  ; 
For  thou  in  pride  of  heart, 
Having  no  fear  of  Zeus, 
In  thine  own  obstinacy, 
Dost  show  for  mortal  men, 
Prometheus,  love  o'ermuch. 

STROPH.    II 

See  how  that  boon,  dear  friends, 
For  thee  is  bootless  found. 
Say,  where  is  any  help? 
What  aid  from  mortals  comes  ? 


34  iprometbeus  :fiSounD 

Hast  thou  not  seen  this  brief  and  powerless  life, 
Fleeting  as  dreams,  with  which  man's  purblind 
race 

Is  fast  in  fetters  bound  ? 

Never  shall  counsels  vain 

Of  mortal  men  break  through 

The  harmony  of  Zeus. 

ANTISTROPH.    II 

This  lesson  have  I  learnt 
Beholding  thy  sad  fate, 
Prometheus  !  Other  strains 
Come  back  upon  ray  mind, 
When  I  sang  wedding  hymns  around  thy  bath, 
And  at  thy  bridal  bed,  when  thou  did'st  take 
In  wedlock's  holy  bands 
One  of  the  same  sire  born, 
Our  own  Hesione, 
Persuading  her  with  gifts 
As  wife  to  share  thy  couch. 
Enter  lo  in  form  like  a  fair   woman   with  a 
heifer's  horns,^^  followed  by  the 
Spectre  ^Argos. 
Jo.    What  land   is   this?      What   people? 
Whom  shall  I 
Say  that  I  see  thus  vexed 
With  bit  and  curb  of  rock  ?  ' 


See  note  36  on  page  67. 


Ipromctbeua  JGounD  35 

For  what  offence  dost  thou 

Bear  fatal  punishment  ? 

Tell  me  to  what  far  land 

I'  ve  wandered  here  in  woe. 
Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 
Again  the  gadfly  stings  me  miserable. 

Spectre  of  Argos,  thou,  the  earth-born 
one — 

Ah,  keep  him  off,  O  Earth  ! 
I  fear  to  look  upon  that  herdsman  dread, 

Him  with  ten  thousand  eyes  : 
Ah  lo  !  he  cometh  with  his  crafty  look, 
Whom  Earth  refuses  even  dead  to  hold  ;  ^^ 

But  coming  from  beneath 

He  hunts  me  miserable, 
And  drives  me  famished  o'er  the  sea-beach  sand. 

STROPH. 

And  still  his  waxened  reed-pipe  soundeth  clear 
A  soft  and  slumberous  strain, 
O  heavens !  O  ye  Gods ! 
Whither  do  these  long  wanderings  lead  me  on  ? 
For  what  offence,  Oson  of  Cronos,  what, 
Hast  thou  thus  bound  me  fast 
In  these  great  miseries  ? 
Ah  me  !   ah  me  ! 
And  why  with  terror  of  the  gadfly's  sting 


See  note  37  on  page  67. 


36  prometbeus  JBounD 

Dost  thou  thus  vex  me,  frenzied  in  my  soul? 
Burn  me  with  fire,  or  bury  me  in  earth, 
Or  to  wild  sea-beasts  give  me  as  a  prey  : 
Nay,  grudge  me  not,  O  King, 
An  answer  to  my  prayers  : 
Enough  my  many-wandered  wanderings 
Have  exercised  my  soul, 
Nor  have  I  power  to  learn 
How  to  avert  the  woe. 
{To  Prometheus).     Hear'st  thou  the  voice  of 

maiden  crowned  with  horns  ? 
Prom.       Surely  I  heard  the  maid  by  gadfly 
driven, 
Daughter  of  Inachos,  who  warmed  the  heart 
Of  Zeus  with  love,    and  now   through    Hera's 

hate 
Is  tried,  perforce,  with  wanderings  over-long  ? 

ANTISTROPH. 

Id.     How  is  it  that  thou  speak'st  my  father's 
name? 
Tell  me,  the  suffering  one. 
Who  art  thou,  who,  poor  wretch, 
Who  thus  so  truly  nam'st  me  miserable. 

And  tell'st  the  plague  from  Heaven, 
Which  with  its  haunting  stings 
Wears  me  to  death  ?     Ah  woe  ! 
And  I  with  famished  and  unseemly  bounds 
Rush  madly,  driven  by  Hera's  jealous  craft. 


prometbeus  JBounD  37 

All,  who  of  all  that  suffer,  born  to  woe, 
Have  trouble  like  the  pain  that  I  endure? 
But  thou,  make  clear  to  me 
What  yet  for  me  remains, 
What  remedy,  what  healing  for  my  pangs. 
Show  me,  if  thou  dost  know  : 
Speak  out  and  tell  to  me, 
The  maid  by  wanderings  vexed. 
Prom.     I  will  say  plainly  all  thou  seek'st  to 
know  ; 
Not  in  dark  tangled  riddles,  but  plain  speech. 
As  it  is  meet  that  friends  to  friends  should  speak  ; 
Thou  see'st  Prometheus  who  gave  fire  to  men. 

lo.     O  thou  to  men  as  benefactor  known. 
Why,  poor  Prometheus,  sufferest  thou  this  pain  ? 
Prom.     I   have  but  now   mine    own    woes 

ceased  to  wail. 
Id.     Wilt  thou  not  then  bestow  this  boon  on 

me  ? 
Prom.     Say  what  thou  seek'st,  for  I  will  tell 

thee  all. 
lo.     Tell  me,  who  fettered  thee  in  this  ravine  ? 
Prom.     The  counsel  was  of  Zeus,  the  hand 

Hephaestos'. 

lo.     Of  what  offence  dost  thou  the  forfeit  pay  ? 

Prom.     Thus  much  alone  am  I  content  to  tell. 

lo.     Tell  me,  at  least,  besides,  what  end  shall 

come 

To  my  drear  wanderings;  when  the  time  shall  be. 


38  ipromctbeus  JiSounD 

Prom.     Not  to  know  this  is  better  than  to 

know. 
lo.     Nay,    hide    not  from   me    what  I  have 

to  bear. 
Prom,    It  is  not  that  I  grudge  the  boon  to 

thee. 
lo.     Why    then    delayest  thou   to   tell  the 

whole  ? 
Prom..     Not  from  ill  will,  but  loth  to  vex  thy 

soul. 
lo.     Nay,  care  thou  not  beyond  what  pleases 

me. 
Profn.     If  thou  desire  it  I  must  speak.     Hear 

then. 
Chor.     Not  yet  though  ;  grant  me  share  of 
pleasure  too, 
lyet  us  first  ask  the  tale  of  her  great  woe. 
While  she  unfolds  her  life's  consuming  chances  ; 
Her  future  sufferings  let  her  learn  from  thee. 
Prom.      'T  is  thy   work,    lo,   to  grant  these 
their  wish, 
On  other  grounds  and  as  thy  father's  kin  :  3  8 
For  to  bewail  and  moan  one's  evil  chance, 
Here  where  one  trusts  to  gain  a  pitying  tear 
From  those  who  hear, — this  is  not  labour  lost. 
lo.     I  know  not  how  to  disobey  your  wish  ; 
So  ye  shall  learn  the  whole  that  ye  desire 
In  speech  full  clear.     And  yet  I  blush  to  tell 

See  note  38  on  page  67. 


promctbcus  J6ounD  39 

The  storm  that  came  from  God,  and   brought 

the  loss 
Of  maiden  face,  what  way  it  seized  on  me. 
r'or  nightly  visions  coming  evermore 
Into  my  virgin  bower,  sought  to  woo  me 
With  glozing  words.      "  O  virgin  greatly  blest, 
Why  art  thou  still  a  virgin  when  thou  might'st 
Attain  to  highest  wedlock  ?     For  with  dart 
Of  passion  for  thee  Zeus  doth  glow,  and  fain 
Would  make  thee   his.      And    thou,    O   child, 

spurn  not 
The  bed  of  Zeus,  but  go  to  Lerua's  field, 
Where  feed  thy  father's  flocks  and  herds, 
That  so  the  eye  of  Zeus  may  fiud  repose 
From  this  his  craving."     With  such  visions  I 
Was  haunted  every  evening,  till  I  dared 
To  tell  my  father  all  these  dreams  of  night. 
And  he  to  Pytho  and  Dodona  sent 
Full  many  to  consult  the  Gods,  that  he 
Might  learn  what  deeds  and  words  would  please 

Heaven's  lords. 
And  they  came  bringing  speech  of  oracles 
Shot  with  dark  sayings,  dim  and  hard  to  know. 
At  last  a  clear  word  came  to  Inachos 
Charging  him  plainly,  and  commanding  him 
To  thrust  me  from  my  country  and  my  home. 
To  stray  atlarge^'  to  utmost  bounds  of  earth  ; 


See  note  39  on  page  67. 


40  prometbcus  JBounD 

And,  should  he  gainsay,  that  the  fiery  bolt 

Of  Zeus  should   come    and    sweep    away    his 

race. 
And  he,  by  I^oxias'  oracles  induced, 
Thrust  me,  against  his  will,  against  mine  too. 
And  drove  me  from  my  home  ;  but  spite  of  all, 
The  curb  of  Zeus  constrained  him  this  to  do. 
And  then   forthwith  my  face  and  mind  were 

changed  ; 
And  horned,  as  ye  see  me,  stung  to  the  quick 
By  biting  gadfly,  I  with  maddened  leap 
Rushed  to  Kerchneia's  fair  and  limpid  stream. 
And   fount  of  lyerna.^o     And   a   giant  herds- 
man, 
Argos,  full  rough  of  temper,  followed  me. 
With  many  an  eye  beholding,  on  my  track. 
And  him  a  sudden  and  unlooked-for  doom 
Deprived  of  life.      And  I,  by  gadfly  stung. 
By  scourge  from  Heaven  am  driven  from  land 

to  land. 
What  has  been  done  thou  hearest.     And  if  thou 
Can'st  tell  what  yet  remains  of  woe,  declare  it ; 
Nor  in  thy  pity  soothe  me  with  false  words  ; 
For  hollow  words,  I  deem,  are  worst  of  ills. 
Chor.     Away,  away,  let  be  : 

Ne'er  thought  I  that  such  tales 
Would  ever,  ever  come  unto  mine  ears  ; 


See  note  40  on  page 


promctbcus  JBounO  41 

Nor  that  such  terrors,  woes,  and  outrages, 

Hard  to  look  on,  hard  to  bear, 
Would  chill  my  soul  with  sharp  goad,  double- 
edged. 

Ah  fate  !   Ah  fate  ! 
I  shudder,  seeing  lo's  fortune  strange. 

Prom.     Thou  art  too  quick  in  groaning,  full 

of  fear  : 
Wait  thou  a  while  until  thou  hear  the  rest. 
Chor.     Speak  thou  and  tell.     Unto  the  sick 

'tis  sweet 
Clearly  to  know  what  yet  remains  of  pain. 
Prom.     Your   former  wish   ye    gained   full 

easily. 
Your  first  desire  was  to  learn  of  her 
The  tale  she  tells  of  her  own  sufferings  ; 
Now  therefore  hear  the  woes  that  yet  remain 
For  this  poor  maid  to  bear  at  Hera's  hands. 
And  thou,  O  child  of  Inachos  !  take  heed 
To  these  my  words,  that  thou  may'st  hear  the 

goal 
Of  all   thy  wanderings.      First   then,   turning 

hence 
Towards  the  sunrise,  tread  the  untilled  plains. 
And  thou  shalt  reach  the   Skythian   nomads, 

those  *• 
Who  on  smooth-rolling  waggons  dwell  aloft 


See  note  41  on  page  68. 


42  ipromctbeue  JBounD 

In  wicker  houses,  with  far-dartiug  bows 
Duly  equipped.      Approach  thou  not  to  these, 
But  trending  round  the  coasts  on  which  the  surf 
Beats  with  loud  murmurs^z  traverse  thou  that 

clime. 
On  the  left  hand  there  dwell  the  Chalybes,4  3 
Who  work  in  iron.     Of  these  do  thou  beware. 
For  fierce  are  they  and  most  inhospitable ; 
And  thou  wilt  reach  the  river  fierce  and  strong, 
True  to  its  name. 44     This  seek  not  thou  to  cross, 
For  it  is  hard  to  ford,  until  thou  come 
To  Caucasos  itself,  of  all  high  hills 
The  highest,  where  a  river  pours  its  strength 
From  the  high  peaks   themselves.     And  thou 

must  cross 
Those  summits  near  the  stars,  must  onward  go 
Towards  the  south,  where  thoushalt  find  the  host 
Of  the  Amazons,  hating  men,  whose  home 
Shall  one  day  be  around  Thermodon's  bank, 
By  Themiskyra,4s  where  the  ravenous  jaws 
Of  Salmydessos  ope  upon  the  sea, 
Treacherous  to    sailors,     stepdame     stern    to 

ships,  *6 
And  they  with  right   good-will    shall    be   thy 

guides  ; 
And  thou,  hard  by  a  broad  pool's  narrow  gates, 
Wilt  pass  to  the  Kimmerian  isthmus.      I^eaving 


See  notes  42,  43,  44,  45  and  46  on  page  63. 


promctbeus  3Boun&  43 

This  boldly,  tbou  must  cross  Maeotic  channel  ;*'> 
And  there  shall  be   great  fame    'mong   mortal 

men 
Of  this  thy  journey,  and  the  Bosporos-'s 
Shall  take  its  name  from  thee.     And  Europe's 

plain 
Then  quitting,  thou  shalt  gain  the  Asian  coast. 
Doth  not  the  all-ruling  monarch  of  the  Gods 
vSeem  all  ways  cruel  ?  For,  although  a  God, 
He,  seeking  to  embrace  this  mortal  maid, 
Imposed  these  wanderings  on  her.     Thou  hast 

found, 
O  maiden  !  bitter  suitor  for  thy  hand  ; 
For  great  as  are  the  ills  thou  now  hast  heard. 
Know  that  as  yet  not  e'en  the  prelude's  known. 
/o.  Ah  woe  !  woe  !  woe  ! 

Prom,     Again  thou  groan'st  and  criest.  What 
wilt  do 
When  thou  shalt  learn  the  evils  yet  to  come? 
C/ior.     What !  are  there  troubles  still  to  come 

for  her  ? 
Prom.    Yea,  stormy  sea  of  woe  most  lament- 
able. 
lo.     What  gain  is  it  to  live  ?    Why  cast  I  not 
Myself  at  once  from  this  high  precipice, 
And,  dashed  to  earth,  be  free  from  allmy  woes? 
Far  better  were  it  once  for  all  to  die 


See  notes  47  and  48  on  page  1 


44  prometbeus  BounD 

Than  all  one's  days  to  suffer  pain  and  grief. 
Prom.     My  struggles  then  full  hardly  thou 

would'st  bear, 
For  whom  there  is  no  destiny  of  death  ; 
For  that  might  bring  a  respite  from  my  woes  : 
But  now  there  is  no  limit  to  my  pangs 
Till  Zeus  be  hurled  out  from  his  sovereignty. 
lo.     What  !  shall  Zeus  e'er  be  hurled  from 

his  high  stale  ? 
Prom.     Thou  would'st  rejoice,  I  trow,  to  see 

that  fall. 
lo.     How  should  I  not,  when  Zeus  so  foully 

wrongs  me  ? 
Prom.     That  this  is  so  thou  now  may'st  hear 

from  me. 
lo.     Who  then  shall  rob  him  of  his  sceptred 

sway  ? 
Prom.     Himself  shall  do  it  by  his  own  rash 

plans. 
Id.     But  how  ?     Tell  this,  unless  it  bringeth 

harm. 
Prom.      He  shall  wed  one  for  whom  one  day 

he  '11  grieve. 
lo.     Heaven -born  or    mortal  ?     Tell,  if  tell 

thou  may'st. 
Prom.     Why  ask'st  thou  who  ?     I    may  not 

tell  thee  that. 
lo.     Shall  his  bride  hurl  him  from  his  throne 

of  might  ? 


promctbeua  JBounO  45 

Pro.     Yea  ;    she   shall  bear   child    mightier 

than  his  sire. 
lo.     Has  he  uo  way  to  turn  aside  that  doom  ? 
Prom.     No,  none  ;  unless  I  from  my  bonds 

be  loosed. 4 9 
lo.     Who  then  shall  loose  thee  'gainst  the 

will  of  Zeus  ? 
Prom.     It  must  be  one  of  thy  posterity. 
lo.     What,  shall  a  child  of  mine   free   thee 

from  ills  ? 
Prom.      Yea,     the     third    generation    after 

tenso 
lo.     No  more  thine  oracles  are  clear  to  me. 
Prom.     Nay,  seek  not  thou  thine  own  drear 

fate  to  know. 
lo.     Do  not,  a  boon  presenting,  then  with- 
draw it. 
Prom.     Of  two  alternatives,   I  '11  give  thee 

choice. 
lo.     Tell  me  of  what,  then  give  me  leave  to 

choose. 
Prom.     I  give   it  then.     Choose,  or  that  I 

should  tell 
Thy  woes  to  come,  or  who  shall  set  me  free. 
Chor.     Of  these   be   willing   one  request  to 

grant 
To  her,  and  one  to  me  ;  nor  scorn  my  words  ; 


See  notes  4g  and  50  on  pages  68  and  6g. 


46  iprometbeus  :©ounD 

Tell  her  what  yet  of  wanderings  she  must  bear, 
And  me  who  shall  release  thee.     This  I  crave. 

Prom.     Since  ye  are  eager,  I  will  not  refuse 
To  utter  fully  all  that  ye  desire. 
Thee,  lo,  first  I  '11  tell  thy  wanderings  wild, 
Thou,  write  it  in  the  tablets  of  thy  mind. 
When  thou  shalt  cross  the  straits,  of  continents 
The  boundary, 5  1  take  thou  the  onward  path 
On  to  the  fiery-hued  and  sun-tracked  East. 
[And  first  of  all,  to  frozen  Northern  blasts 
Thou'lt   come,  and  there   beware  the  rushing 

whirl, 
Lest  it  should  come  upon  thee  suddenly, 
And  sweep  thee  onward  with    the  cloud-rack 

wild];  5  2 
Crossing  the  sea-surf  till  thou  come  at  last 
Unto  Kisthene's  Gorgoneian  plains, 
Where  dwell  the  grey -haired  virgin  Phorkides,  5  3 
Three,  swan-shaped,  with  one  eye  between  them 

all 
And  but  one  tooth  ;  whom  nor  the  sun  beholds 
With  radiant  beams,  nor  yet  the  moon  by  night : 
And  near  them  are  their  winged  sisters  three, 
The  Gorgons,  serpent-tressed,  and  hating  men. 
Whom  mortal  wight  may  not  behold  and  live. 
Such  is  one  ill  I  bid  thee  guard  against ; 
Now  hear  another  monstrous  sight :  Beware 


See  notes  51,  52  and  53  on  page  69. 


prometbcus  JBounD  47 

The  sharp-beaked  houuds  of  Zeus  that  never 

bark,  5  4 
The    Gryphons,    and     the   one-eyed,    mounted 

host 
Of  Arimaspians,  who  around  the  stream 
That  flows  o'er  gold,  the  ford  of  Pluto,  dwell :5 5 
Draw  not  thou  nigh  to  them.     But  distant  land 
Thou  shalt  approach,  the  swarthy  tribes  who 

dwell 
By  the  sun's  fountain, S6  ^'l^thiopia's  stream  : 
By  its  banks  wend  thy  way  until  thou  come 
To  that  great  fall  where  from  the  Bybline  hills 
The  Neilos  pours  its  pure  and  holy  flood  ; 
And  it  shall  guide  thee  to  Neilotic  land, 
Three-angled,  where,  O  lo,  'tis  decreed, 
For  thee  and  for  thy  progeny  to  found 
A  far-off  colony.     And  if  of  this 
Aught  seem  to  thee  as  stammering  speech  ob- 
scure, 
Ask  yet  again  and  learn  it  thoroughly  : 
Far  more  of  leisure  have  I  than  I  like. 

Chor.  If  thou  hast  aught  to  add,  aught  left 
untold 
Of  her  sore-wasting  wanderings,  speak  it  out  ; 
But  if  thou  hast  said  all,  then  grant  to  us 
The  boon  we  asked.      Thou  dost  not,  sure,  for- 
get it. 


See  notes  54,  55  and  56  on  page  69. 


48  prometbcus  36oun& 

Prom.  The  whole  course  of  her  journeying 

she  hath  heard, 
And  that  she  know  she  hath  not  heard  in  vain 
I  will  tell  out  what  troubles  she  hath  borne 
Before  she  came  here,  giving  her  sure  proof 
Of  these  my  words.      The  greater  bulk  of  things 
I  will  pass  o'er,  and  to  the  very  goal 
Of  all  thy  wanderings   go.       For  when  thou 

cam'st 
To  the  Molossian  plains,  and  by  the  grove  s ' 
Of  lofty-ridged  Dodona,  and  the  shrine 
Oracular  of  Zeus  Thesprotian, 
And  the  strange  portent  of  the  talking  oaks, 
By  which  full  clearly,  not  in  riddle  dark. 
Thou  wast  addressed  as  noble  spouse  of  Zeus, — 
If  aught  of  pleasure  such  things  give  to  thee, — 
Thence  stung  to  frenzy,  thou  did  'st  rush  along 
The  sea-coast's  path  to  Rhea's  mighty  gulf,5  8 
In  backward  way  from  whence  thou  now  art 

vexed, 
And  for  all  time  to  come  that  reach  of  sea, 
Know  well,  from  thee  Ionian  shall  be  called, 
To  all  men  record  of  thy  journeyings. 
These  then  are  tokens  to  thee  that  my  mind 
Sees  somewhat  more  than  that  is  manifest. 
What  follows  {to  the  Chorus)  I  will  speak  to  you 

and  her 


See  notes  57  and  58  on  page  70. 


promctbeu3  JSounO  49 

In  common,  on  the  track  of  former  words 
Returning  once  again.     A  city  stands 
Canobos,  at  its  country's  furthest  bound, 
Hard  by  the  mouth  and  silt-bank  of  the  Nile  ; 
There   Zeus    shall    give   thee   back  thy    mind 

again, 59 
With  hand  that  works  no  terror  touching  thee.— 
Touch  only— and  thou  then  shalt  bear  a  child 
Of  Zeus  begotten,  Epaphos,  "Touch-born," 
vSwartliy  of  hue,  whose  lot  shall  be  to  reap 
The  whole  plain  watered  by  the  broad-streamed 

Neilos  : 
And  in  the  generation  fifth  from  him 
A  household  numbering  fifty  shall  return 
Against  their  will  to  Argos,  in  their  flight 
From  wedlock  with  their  cousins. 6o       And  they 

too, 
(Kites  but  a  little  space  behind  the  doves) 
With  eager  hopes  pursuing  marriage  rites 
Beyond   pursuit   shall   come  ;     and   God    shall 

grudge 
To  give  up  their  sweet  bodies.     And  the  land 
Pelasgian  ''i  shall  receive  them,  when  by  stroke 
Of  woman's  murderous  hand  these  men  shall  lie 
Smitten  to  death  by  daring  deed  of  night  : 
For  every  bride  shall  take  her  husband's  life, 
And  dip  in  blood  the  sharp  two-edged  sword 


See  notes  59,  60  and  61  on  page  70. 
4 


50  iprometbeus  :i6oimD 

(So  to  my  foes  may  Kypris  show  herself!)  ^2 
Yet  one  of  that  fair  baud  shall  love  persuade 
Her  husbaud  not  to  slaughter,  and  her  will 
Shall  lose  its  edge  ;    and  she  shall  make  her 

choice 
Rather  as  weak  than  murderous  to  be  known. 
And  she  at  Argos  shall  a  royal  seed 
Bring  forth  (long  speech  't  would  take  to  tell 

this  clear) 
Famed  for  his  arrows,  who  shall  set  me  free  ^3 
From  these  my  woes.     Such  was  the  oracle 
Mine  ancient  mother  Themis,  Titan-born, 
Gave  to  me  ;  but  the  manner  and  the  means, — 
That  needs  a  lengtliy  tale  to  tell  the  whole, 
And  thou  can'st  nothing  gain  by  learning  it. 

lo.     Eleleu  !    Oh,  Eleleu  !  64 — 
The  throbbing  pain  inflames  me,  and  the  mood 
Of  frenzy-smitten  rage  ; 
The  gadfly's  pointed  sting, 
Not  forged  with  fire,  attacks, 
And  my  heart  beats  against  my  breast  with  fear. 
Mine  eyes  whirl  round  and  round  : 
Out  of  my  course  I  'm  borne 
By  the  wild  spirit  of  fierce  agony. 
And  cannot  curb  my  lips, 
And  turbid  speech  at  random  dashes  on 
Upon  the  waves  of  dread  calamity. 


See  notes  62,  63  and  64  on  page  70. 


prometbeus  ."©ounO  51 

STROPH.  I 

Chor.    Wise,  very  wise  was  he 
Who  first  in   thought    conceived    this    maxim 

sage, 

And  spread  it  with  his  speech,  (-^ — 
That  the  best  wedlock  is  with  equals  found, 
And  that  a  craftsman,  born  to  work  with  hands, 

Should  not  desire  to  wed 
Or  with  the  soft  luxurious  heirs  of  wealth. 
Or  with  the  race  that  boast  their  lineage  high. 

ANTISTROPH.    I 

Oh  ne'er,  oh  ne'er,  dread  Fates, 
May  ye  behold  me  as  the  bride  of  Zeus, 

The  partner  of  his  couch. 
Nor  may  I  wed  with  any  heaven-born  spouse  ! 
For  I  shrink  back,  beholding  lo's  lot 

Of  loveless  maidenhood. 
Consumed  and  smitten  low  exceedingly 
By  the  wild  wanderings  from  great  Hera  sent  ! 

STROPH.    II 

To  me,  when  wedlock  is  on  equal  terms, 
It  gives  no  cause  to  fear : 

Ne'er  may  the  love  of  any  of  the  Gods, 
The  strong  Gods,  look  on  me 
With  glance  I  cannot  'scape  ! 


See  note  65  on  page  70. 


52  ipromctbcus  JSounC) 

ANTISTROPH,  II 
That  fate  is  war  that  none  can  war  against, 

Source  of  resourceless  ill ; 
Nor  know  I  what  might  then  become  of  me  : 

I  see  not  how  to  'scape 

The  counsel  deep  of  Zeus, 
Prom.  Yea,  of  a  truth  shall  Zeus,  though  stiff 

of  will, 
Be  brought  full  low.     Such  bed  of  wedlock  now 
Is  he  preparing,  one  to  cast  him  forth 
In  darkness  from  his  sovereignty  and  throne. 
And  then  the  curse  his  father  Cronos  spake 
Shall  have  its  dread  completion,  even  that 
He  uttered  when  he  left  his  ancient  throne  ; 
And  from  these  troubles  no  one  of  the  Gods 
But  me  can  clearly  show  the  way  to  'scape. 
I  know  the  time  and  manner  :  therefore  now 
Let  him  sit  fearless,  in  his  peals  on  high 
Putting  his  trust,  and  shaking  in  his  hands 
His  darts  fire-breathing.   Nought  shall  they  avail 
To  hinder  him  from  falling  shamefully 
A  fall  intolerable.      Such  a  combatant 
He  arms  against  himself,  a  marvel  dread, 
Who  shall  a  fire  discover  mightier  far 
Than  the  red  levin,  and  a  sound  more  dread 
Than  roaring  of  the  thunder,  and  shall  shiver 
That    plague    sea-born    that   causeth   earth    to 

quake. 
The  trident,  weapon  of  Poseidon's  strength  : 


promctbeug  JBounD  53 

And  stumbling  on  this  evil,  he  shall  learn 
How  far  apart  a  king's  lot  from  a  slave's. 

Chor.  What  thou  dost  wish  thou  mutterest 

against  Zeus. 
Prom.  Things  that   shall   be,   and    things  I 

wish,  I  speak. 
Chor.  And  must  we  look  for  one  to  master 

Zeus? 
Prom.  Yea,  troubles   harder  far  than   these 

are  his. 
Chor.  Art  not  afraid  to  vent  such  words  as 

these? 
Prom.  What  can  I  fear  whose  fate  is  not  to 

die? 
Chor.  But  He  may  send  on  thee  worse  pain 

than  this. 
Prom.  So   let    Him   do :    nought   finds    me 

unprepared. 
Chor.  Wisdom  is  theirs  who  Adrasteia  wor- 
ship. 66 
Prom.  Worship  then,  praise  and  flatter  him 
that  rules  ; 
My  care   for   Zeus  is   nought,    and   less    than 

nought : 
Let  Him  act,  let  Him  rule  this  little  while, 
E'en  as  He  will  ;  for  long  He  shall  not  rule 
Over  the  Gods.     But  lo  !  I  see  at  hand 


See  note  66  on  page  70. 


54  iprometbeua  JBounD 

The  courier  of  the  Gods,  the  minister 

Of  our  new  sovereign.     Doubtless  he  has  come 

To  bring  me  tidings  of  some  new  device. 

Enter  Hermes. 

Herm.     Thee     do   I    speak    to, — thee,    the 
teacher  wise, 
The  bitterly  o'er-bitter,  who  'gainst  Gods 
Hast    sinned    in     giving    gifts   to    short-lived 

men — 
I  speak  to  thee,  the  filcher  of  bright  fire. 
The  Father  bids  thee  say  what  marriage  thou 
Dost  vaunt,  and  who  shall  hurl  Him  from  his 

might ; 
And  this  too  not  in  dark  mysterious  speech. 
But  tell  each  point  out  clearly.     Give  me  not, 
Prometheus,  task  of  double  journey.     Zeus 
Thou  seest,  is  not  with  such  words  appeased. 
Prom.     Stately  of  utterance,  full  of  haughti- 
ness 
Thy  speech,  as  fits  a  messenger  of  Gods. 
Ye  yet  are  young  in  your  new  rule,  and  think 
To  dwell  in  painless  towers.     Have  I  not 
Seen  two  great     rulers     driven     forth    from 

thence  P^? 
And  now  the  third,  who  reigneth,  I  shall  see 
In  basest,  quickest  fall.     Seem  I  to  thee 


See  note  67  on  page  70, 


prometbcus3  JGounD  55 

To  shrink    and    quail    Ijcfore    these    ncw-niade 

Gods  ? 
I'ar,  very  far  from  that  am  I.      But  thou, 
Track    once   aj<aiu    the    path    by    which    thou 

earnest  ; 
Thou  shaltlearn  nouglit  of  what  thou  askest  me. 
Henn.       It   was    by   such    self-will    as    this 
before 
That  thou  did'st  brin.t^  these  sufferings  on  thy- 
self. 
Prom.      I  for  my  ]  art,  be  sure,  would   never 
change 
My  evil  state  for  that  thy  bondslave's  lot. 

HcyjH.     To  be  the  bondslave  of  this  rock,  I 
trow. 
Is  better  than  to  be  Zeus'  trusty  herald  ! 
Prom.     So  it  is  meet  the  insulter  to  insu't. 
Henn.     Thou    waxest  proud,  't  would  seem, 

of  this  thy  doom. 
Piom.      Wax  proud  !  God  grant  that   I  may 
see  my  foes 
Thus  waxing  proud,  and  thee  among  the  rest  ! 
Herm.     Dost  blame  me  tlieu  for  thy  calam- 
ities ? 
Prom.     In  one  short  sentence — all  the  Gods 
I  hate, 
Who  my  good  turns  with  evil  turns  repay. 
Herm,     Thy  words  prove  thee  with  no  slight 
madness  pUgued, 


56  ipromctbeug  JBounD 

Prom.      If  to  hate  foes  be  madness,  mad  I  am, 
Ilerni.     Not  one  could  bear  thee  wert  thou 

prosperous. 
Prom.     Ah  me  ! 
Herm.  That  word  is  all  unknown 

to  Zeus. 
Prom.     Time  waxing  old  can  many  a  lesson 

teach. 
Herm.     Yet  thou  at  least  hast  not  true  wis- 
dom learnt. 
Prom.      I  had  not  else  addressed  a  slave  like 

thee. 
Herm.     Thou  wilt  say  nought   the   Father 

asks,  't  would  seem. 
Prom.     Fine  debt  I  owe  him,  favour  to  repay. 
Herm.     INIe  as  a  boy  thou  scornest    then, 

forsooth . 
Prom.     And  art  thou  not  a  boy,  and  sillier  far, 
If  tbat  thou  thinkest  to  learn  augbt  from  me  ? 
There  is  no  torture  nor  device  by  which 
Zeus  can  impel  me  to  disclose  these  things 
Before  these  bonds  that  outrage  me  be  loosed. 
Let  then  the  blazing-  levin-flash  be  hurled  ; 
With  white-winged  snow-storm  and  with  earth- 
born  thunders 
Let  Him  disturb  and  trouble  all  that  is  ; 
Nought  of  these  things  shall  force  me  to  declare 
Whose  hand  shall  drive  him  from  his    sover- 
eignty. 


prometbcus  JBounD  57 

Herm.     See  if  thou  findest  any  help  in  this. 
Prom.     Long  since  all    this  I  've   seen,  and 

forme  1  my  pL.ns. 
Herm.      O  fool,  take  heart,  take  heart  at  last 
in  time, 
To  form  right  thoughts    lor  these  thy  present 
woes. 
Prom.     Like  one  who  soothes  a  wave,   thy 
speech  in  vain 
Vexes  my  soul.      But  deem  not  thou  that  I, 
I-'jaring  the  will  of  Zeus,  shall  e'er  become 
As  woman ised  in  mind,  or  shall  entreat 
Ilim   whom  I  greatly    loathe,     with  upturned 

hand. 
In  woman's  fashion,  from  these  bonds  of  mine 
To  set  me  free.      Far,  f.ir  am  I  from  that. 

Herm.     It  seems  that  I,  saying  much,  shall 
speak  in  vain  ; 
For  thou  in  nou  ;ht  by  prayers  art  pacified, 
Or  softened  in  thy  heart,  but  like  a  colt 
Fresh  harnessed,  thou  dost  champ  thy  bit,  and 

strive. 
And  fight  against  the  reins.     Yet  thou  art  stiff 
In  weak  device  ;  for  self-will,  by  itself. 
In  one  who  is  not  wise,  is  less  t.ian  nought. 
Look  to  it,  if  thou  disobey  my  words. 
How  great  a  storm  and  triple  wave  of  ills,  ^s 


See  note  68  on  page  70. 


58  iprometbeus  JSounD 

Not  to  be  'scaped,  shall  come  ou  thee  ;  for  first 
With  thunder  aud  the  levin's  blazing  flash 
The  Father  this  ravine  of  rock  shall  crush, 
And  shall  thy  carcase  hide,  and  stern  embrace 
Of  stony  arms  shall  keep  thee  in  thy  place. 
And  having  traversed  space  of  time  full  long. 
Thou  shall  come  back  to  light,  and  then   his 

hound. 
The  winged  hound  of  Zeus,  the  ravening  ea  !e 
Shall  greedily  make  banquet  of  thy  flesh, 
Coming  all  day  an  uninvited  guest, 
Aud  glut  himself  upon  thy  l.ver  dark. 
And  of  that  anguish  look  not  for  the  end. 
Before  some  God  shall  come  to  bear  thy  woes, 
And  will  to  pass  to  Hades'  sunless  realm. 
And  the  dark  cloudy  depths  of  Tartaros.69 
Wherefore  take  heed.     No  feigned  boast  is  this. 
But  spoken  all  too  truly  ;  for  the  lips 
Of  Zeus  know  not  to  speak  a  lying  speech, 
But  will  perform  each  single  word.     And  thou. 
Search  well,  be  wise  nor  think  that  self-willed 

pride 
Shall  ever  better  prove  than  counsel  good. 
Chor.     To   us   doth  Hermes  seem    to    utter 
words 
Not  out  of  season  ;  for  he  bids  thee  quit 


See  note  69  on  page  71, 


prometbcus  J6ounO  59 

Thy  self-willed  pride  and  seek  for  council  good 
Hearken  thou  to  him.     To  the  wise  of  soul 
It  is  foul  shame  to  sin  persistently. 

Prom.     To  me  who  knew  it  all 

He  hath  this  message  borne ; 

And  that  a  foe  from  foes 

Should  suffer  is  not  strange. 

Therefore  on  me  be  hurled 

The  sharp-edged  wreath  of  fire  ; 

And  let  heaven's  vault  be  stirred 

With  thunder  and  the  blasts 

Of  fiercest  winds  ;  antl  Earth 

From  its  foundations  strong, 

E'en  to  its  deepest  roots, 

Let  storm-wind  make  to  rock  ; 

And  let  the  Ocean  wave, 

With  wild  and  foaming  surge, 

Be  heaped  up  to  the  paths 

Where  move  the  stars  of  heaven  ; 

And  to  dark  Tartaros 

Let  Him  my  carcase  hurl, 

With  mighty  blasts  of  force  : 

Yet  me  He  shall  not  slay. 

Herm.    Such  words  and  thoughts  from 
one 

Brain-stricken  one  may  hear. 

What  space  divides  his  state 

From  freozy  ?     What  repose 


6o  iprometbeus  JBounO 

Hath  he  from  maddened  rage  ? 
But  ye  who  pitying  stand 
And  share  his  bitter  griefs, 
Quickly  from  hence  depart, 
Lest  the  relentless  roar 
Of  thunder  stun  your  soul. 

Chor.  With  other  words  attempt 
To  counsel  and  persuade, 
And  I  will  hear  :  for  now 
Thou  hast  this  word  thrust  in 
That  we  may  never  bear. 
How  dost  thou  bid  me  train 
My  soul  to  baseness  vile  ? 
With  him  I  will  endure 
Whatever  is  decreed. 
Traitors  I  've  learnt  to  hate. 
Nor  is  there  any  plague 
That  more  than  this  I  loathe. 

Her^n.  Nay  then,  remember  ye 
What  now  I  say,  nor  blame 
Your  fortune  :  never  say 
That  Zeus  hath  cast  you  down 
To  evil  not  foreseen. 
Not  so  ;  ye  cast  yourselves  : 
For  now  with  open  eyes, 
Not  taken  unawares, 
In  Ate's  endless  net 
Ye  shall  entangled  be 


promctbcus  JBoun^  6i 

By  folly  of  3'our  ovN^n. 
[A  pajise,  and  then  flashes  of  lightnijig 

and  peals  of  thunder.  70 
Prom.  Yea,  now  in  very  deed, 
No  more  in  word  alone, 
The  earth  shakes  to  and  fro, 
And  the  loud  thunder's  voice 
Bellows  hard  by,  and  blaze 
The  flashing  1  vin-fires  ; 
And  tempests  whirl  the  dust, 
And  gusts  of  all  wild  winds 
On  one  another  leap, 
In  wild  conflicting  blasts, 
And  sky  with  sea  is  blent  : 
Such  is  the  storm  from  Zeus 
That  comes  as  working  fear, 
In  terrors  manife  t. 
O  M  tlier  venerable  ! 
O  ^ther  !  rolling  round 
The  common  light  of  all, 
See'st  thou  what  wrongs  I  bear  ? 


-ee  note  70  on  page  71. 


I 


NOTES. 


1.  The  scene  seems  at  first  an  exception  to  the  early 
conventional  rule,  which  forbade  the  introduction  of  a 
third  actor  on  the  Greek  stage,  liut  it  has  been  noticed 
that  (i)  Force  does  not  speak,  and  (2)  Prometheus  does 
not  speak  till  Streng^th  and  Force  have  retired,  and  that 
it  is  therefore  probable  that  the  whole  work  of  nailing 
is  done  on  a  lay  figure  or  effigy  of  some  kind,  and  that 
one  of  the  two  who  had  before  taken  part  in  the  dialogue 
then  speaks  behind  it  in  the  character  of  Prometheus. 
So  the  same  actor  must  have  appeared  in  succession  as 
Okeanos,  lo,  and  Hermes. 

2.  Prometheus  {Forethought)  is  the  son  of  Themis 
{Right)  the  .second  occupant  of  the  Pythian  Oracle 
{Eitmen.,  V.  2).  His  sympathy  with  man  leads  him  to 
impart  the  gift  which  raised  them  out  of  savage  animal 
life,  and  for  this  Zeus,  who  appears  throughout  the 
play  as  a  hard  taskmaster,  sentences  him  to  fetters. 
Hepha^stos,  from  whom  this  fire  had  been  stolen,  has  a 
touch  of  pity  for  him.  Strength,  who  ccmes  as  the  ser- 
vant, not  of  Hephffistos,  but  of  Zeus  himself,  acts,  as 
such,  with  merciless  cruelty. 

3.  The  generalised  statement  refers  to  Zeus,  as  having^ 
but  recently  expelled  Cronos  from  his  throne  in  Heaven. 

4.  Hephsestos,  as  the  great  fire-worker,  had  taught 
Prometheus  to  use  the  fire  which  he  afterwards  bestowed 


5.  Perhaps,  "All  might  is  ours  except  o'er  Gods  to 
rule." 

6.  The  words  indicate  that  the  efiigy  of  Prometheus, 
now  nailed  to  the  rock,  was,  as  being  that  of  a  Titan,  of 
colossal  size. 

7.  The  touch  is  characteristic  as  showing  that  here, 
as  in  the  humetiides,  .lEschylos  relied  on  the  horrible- 
ness  of  the  masks,  as  part  of  the  machinery  of  his  plays. 

63 


64  IRotes 


8.  The  silence  of  Prometheus  up  to  this  point  was 
partly,  as  has  been  said,  consequent  on  the  conventional 
laws  of  the  Greek  drama,  but  it  is  also  a  touch  of  su- 
preme insight  into  the  heroic  temper.  In  the  presence 
of  his  torturers,  the  Titan  will  not  utter  even  a  groan. 
When  they  are  gone,  he  appeals  to  the  sympathy  of 
Nature. 

9.  The  legend  is  from  Hesiod,  (r^^og-ow.  v.  567.)  The 
fennel,  or  narthex,  seems  to  have  been  a  large  umbel- 
liferous plant  with  a  large  stem  filled  with  a  sort  of 
pith,  which  was  used  when  dry  as  tinder.  Stalks  were 
carried  as  wands  (the  thyrsi)  by  the  men  and  women 
who  joined  in  the  Bacchanalian  processions.  In  modern 
botany,  the  name  is  given  to  the  plant  which  produces 
A?afoetida,  and  the  stem  of  which,  from  its  resinous 
character,  would  burn  freely,  and  so  connect  itself  with 
the  Promethean  mj  th.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Narthex 
Asafcetida  is  found  at  present  only  in  Persia,  AfiFghanis- 
tan,  and  the  Punjaub. 

10  The  ocean  nymphs,  like  other  divine  ones,  would 
be  anointed  with  ambrosial  unguents,  and  the  odour 
would  be  v/afted  before  them  by  the  rustling  of  their 
wings.  This,  too,  we  may  think  of  as  part  of  the 
"stage  effects"  of  the  play . 

11.  The  words  are  not  those  of  a  vague  terror  only. 
The  sufferer  knows  that  his  tormentor  is  to  come  to 
him  before  long  on  wings,  and  therefore  the  sound  as 
of  the  flight  of  birds  is  full  of  terrors. 

12.  By  some  stage  mechanism  the  Chorus  remains  in 
the  air  till  verse  280,  when  at  the  request  of  Prometheus, 
they  alight. 

13.  Here,  as  throughout  the  play,  the  poet  puts  into 
the  mouth  of  his  dramatis  personce  words  which  must 
have  seemed  to  the  devouter  Athenians  sacriligeous 
enough  to  call  for  an  indictment  before  the  Areiopagos. 
But  the  final  play  of  the  Triolog}'  came,  we  may  believe, 
as  the  l-Aimenides  did  in  its  turn,  as  a  reconciliation  of  the 
conflicting  thoughts  that  rise  in  men's  minds  out  of  the 
seeming  anomalies  of  the  world. 

14.  The  words  leave  it  uncertain  whether  Themis  is 
identified  with  Earth,  or,  as  in  Eumenides.  (v.  2,)  dis- 
tinguished from  her.  The  Titans  as  a  class,  then  child- 
ren of  Okeanos  and  Chth6n  (another  name  for  Land 
or  Earth  )  are  the  kindred  rather  than  the  brothers  of 
Prometheus. 


"Wotcs  65 

15.  The  generalising  words  here,  as  in  v.  35,  appeal  to 
the  Athenian  hatred  of  all  that  was  represented  by  the 
words  tyrant  and  tyranny. 

16  The  state  described  is  that  of  men  who  "  through 
fear  of  death  are  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage. 
That  state,  the  parent  of  all  superstition,  fostered  the 
slavish  awe  in  which  Zeus  delighted.  Prometheus, 
representing  the  active  intellect  of  man,  bestows  new 
powers,  new  interests,  new  hopes,  which  at  last  divert 
them  from  that  fear. 

17.  The  home  of  Okeanos  was  in  the  far  west,  at  the 
boundary  of  the  great  stream  surrounding  the  whole 
world,  from  which  he  took  his  name. 

18.  One  of  the  sayings  of  the  Seven  Sages,  already 
recognised  and  quoted  as  a  familiar  proverb. 

19.  See  Plumptre's  edition  oi  Agamemnon,  v.  1602. 

20.  In  the  mythos,  Okeanos  had  given  his  daughter 
Hesione  in  marriage  to  Prometheus  after  the  theft 
of  fire,  and  thus  had  identified  himself  with  his 
transgression. 

21.  In  the  Theogony  of  Hesiod,  (v.  sog,)  Prometheus 
and  Atlas  appear  as  tfee  sons  of  two  sisters.  As  other 
Titans  were  thought  of  as  buried  unJer  volcanoes,  so 
this  one  was  identified  with  the  mountaia  which  had 
been  seen  by  travellers  to  Western  Africa,  or  in  the  seas 
beyond  it,  rising  like  a  column  to  support  the  vault  of 
heaven.  In  Herodotus  ( iv.  174  )  and  all  later  writers, 
the  name  is  given  to  the  chain  of  mountains  in  l^ybia, 
as  being  the  "  pillar  of  the  firmament  ;  "  but  Humboldt 
and  others  identify  it  with  the  lonely  peak  of  Teneriffe, 
as  seen  by  Phoenikian  or  Hellenic  voyagers.  Teneriffe, 
too,  like  most  of  the  other  Titan  mountains,  was  at  one 
time  volcanic.  Homer^  {Odyss,  i.,  53)  represents  him  as 
holding  the  pillars  which  separate  heaven  from  earth  ; 
Hesiod  (Theogon.  v.  517)  as  himself  standing  near  the 
Hesnerides,  (this,  too,  points  to  Teneriffe  )  sustaining 
the  heavens  with  his  head  and  shoulders. 

22.  The  volcanic  character  of  the  whole  of  Asia  Mi- 
nor, and  the  liability  to  earthquakes  which  has  marked 
nearly  every  period  of  its  history,  led  men  to  connect  it 
also  with  the  traditions  of  the  Titans,  some  accordingly 
placing  the  home  of  Typhon  in  Phrygia,  some,  near  Saf- 


66  motes 


dis,  some,  as  here,  in  Kilikia.  Hesiod  ( Theogon,  v.  820)  de- 
scribes Typhon  (or  Typhoeus)  as  a  serpent-monster  hiss- 
ing out  fire  ;  Pindar  XPyth.  i.  30,  viii.,  21),  as  lying  with 
his  head  and  breast  crushed  beneath  the  weight  of 
-i^tna,  and  his  feet  extending  to  Cumae. 

23.  The  words  point  probably  to  an  eruption,  then 
fresh  in  men's  memories,  which  had  happened  B.C.  476. 

24.  By  some  editors  this  speech  from  "  No,  not  so," 
to  "  thou  know'st  how,"  is  assigned  to  Okeanos. 

25.  These  are,  of  course,  the  Amazons,  who  were  be- 
lieved to  have  come  through  Thrak^  from  the  Tauric 
Chersonesos,  and  had  left  traces  of  their  names  and 
habits  in  the  Attic  traditions  of  Theseus. 

26.  Beyond  the  plains  of  Skythia,  and  the  lake  Maeotis 
(the  sea  of  Azov)  there  would  be  the  great  river 
Okeanos,  which  was  believed  to  flow  round  the  earth. 

27.  Sarmatia  has  been  conjectured  instead  of  Arabia. 
No  Greek  author  sanctions  the  extension  of  the  latter 
name  to  so  remote  a  region  as  that  north  of  the 
Caspian. 

28.  The  Greek  leaves  the  object  of  the  sympathy  un- 
defined, but  it  seems  better  to  refer  it  to  that  which 
Atlas  receives  from  the  waste  of  waters  around,  and  the 
dark  world  beneath,  than  the  pitj  shown  to  Prometheus. 
This  had  already  been  dwelt  on  in  line  421. 

29.  The  passage  that  follows  has  for  modem  palae- 
ontologists the  interest  of  coinciding  with  their  views  as 
to  the  progress  of  human  society,  and  the  condition  ot 
mankind  during  what  has  been  called  the  "Stone  " 
period.     Comp.  I^ucretius,  v.  955-984. 

30.  Comp.  Mr.  Blakesley's  note  on  Herod,  ii.  4,  as 
showing  that  here  there  was  the  greater  risk  of  faulty 
observation. 

31.  Another  reading  gives  perhaps  a  better  sense— 

"  Memory,  handmaid  true 
And  mother  of  the  Muses." 

32.  In  Greece,  as  throughout  the  Kast,  the  ox  was 
used  for  all  agricultural  labours,  the  horse  by  the  noble 
and  the  rich,  either  in  war  chariots,  or  stately  proces- 
sions, or  in  chariot  races  in  the  great  games. 


of  Pi 


Compare  with  this  the  account  of  the  inventions 
Palamedes  in  Sophocles,  Fragm.  379. 


"Wotee  67 


34.  Here  we  can  recognise  the  knowledjje  of  one  who 
had  studied  in  the  schools  of  Pythagoras,  or  had  at  any 
rate  picked  up  their  terminology.  A  more  immediate 
connection  may  perhaps  be  traced  with  the  influence  of 
Epimenides,  who  was  said  to  have  spent  many  years  in 
searching  out  the  healing  virtues  of  plants,  and  to  have 
written  books  about  them, 

35.  The  lines  that  follow  form  almost  a  manual  of 
the  art  of  divination  as  then  practised.  The  "  ominous 
sounds''  include  chance  words ,  strange  cries,  any  unex- 

S)ected  utterance  that  connected  itself  with  men's  fears 
or  the  future.  The  flights  of  birds  were  watched  by  the 
diviner  as  he  faced  the  north,  and  so  the  region  on  the 
right  hand  was  that  of  the  sunrise,  light,  blessedness; 
on  the  left  there  were  darkness  and  gloom  and  death. 

36.  So  lo  was  represented,  we  are  told,  by  Greek 
sculptors,  (Herod,  ii.  41.)  as  Isis  was  by  those  of  Egypt. 
The  points  of  contact  between  the  myth  of  loand  that 
of  Prometheus,  as  adopted,  or  perhaps  developed,  by 
^Eschylos,  are— (i)  that  from  her  the  destined  deliverer 
of  the  chained  Titan  is  to  come  ;  ( 2 )  that  both  were  suf- 
fering from  the  cruelty  of  Zeus  ;  (3)  that  the  wanderings 
of  lo  gave  scope  for  the  wild  tales  of  far  countries  on 
which  the  imagination  of  the  Athenians  fed  greedily. 
But,  as  the  Suppliants  may  serve  to  show,  the  story  it- 
self had  a  strange  fascination  for  him.  In  the  birth  ot 
Epaphos,  and  lo's  release  from  her  frenzy,  he  saw,  it 
may  be,  a  reconciliation  of  what  had  seemed  hard  to 
reconcile,  a  solution  of  the  problems  of  the  world,  like 
in  kind  to  that  which  was  shadowed  forth  in  the  lost 
Prometheus  Unbound. 

37.  Argos  had  been  slain  by  Hermes,  and  his  eyes 
transferred  by  Hera  to  the  tail  of  the  peacock,  and  that 
bird  was  thenceforth  sacred  to  her. 

38.  Inachos  the  father  of  lo  f  identified  with  the  Ar- 
give  river  of  the  same  name  )  was,  like  all  rivers,  a  son 
of  Okeanos  and  therefore  brother  to  the  nymphs  who 
had  come  to  see  Prometheus. 

39.  The  words  used  have  an  almost  technical  mean- 
ing as  applied  to  animals  that  were  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  God,  and  set  free  to  wander  where  they  liked. 
The  fate  of  lo,  as  at  once  devoted  to  Zeus  and  animal- 
ised  in  form,  was  thus  shadowed  forth  in  the  very  lan- 
guage of  the  Oracle. 


68  notes 


40.  Ivcrna  was  a  lake  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tnachos 
close  to  the  sea.  Kerchneia  may  perhaps  be  identified 
with  the  Kenchreae,  the  haven  of  Korinth  in  later  geo- 
graphies. 

41.  The  wicker  huts  used  by  Skythian  or  Thrakian 
nomads  (the  Calmucks  of  modern  geographers)  are  de- 
scribed by  Herodotus  (iv.  46)  and  are  still  in  use. 

42.  Sc.  the  N.  K.  boundary  of  the  Euxine,  where 
spurs  of  the  Caucasos  ridge  approach  the  sea. 

43.  The  Chalybes  are  placed  by  geographers  to  the 
south  of  Colchis.  The  description  of  the  text  indicates 
a  locality  farther  to  the  north. 

44.  Probably  the  Araxes,  which  the  Greeks  would 
connect  with  a  word  conveying  the  idea  of  a  torrent 
dashing  on  the  rocks.  The  description  seems  to  imply  a 
river  flowing  into  the  Kuxine  from  the  Caucasos,  and 
the  condition  is  fulfilled  by  the  Hypanis  or  Kouban. 

45.  When  the  Amazons  appear  in  contact  with  Greek 
history,  they  are  found  in  TJirace.  But  they  had  come 
from  the  coast  of  Pontos,  and  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Themiodon  ( ThermeJi).  The  words  of  Prometheus  point 
to  yet  earlier  migrations  from  the  East. 

46.  Here,  as  in  Soph.  Antig.  (970)  the  name  Salmy- 
dessos  represents  the  rock-bound,  havenless  coast 
from  the  promontory  of  Thynias  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Bosporos,  which  had  griven  to  the  Black  Sea  its  earlier 
name  of  Axenos,  the  "inhospitable." 

47.  The  track  is  here  in  some  confusion.  From  the 
Amazons  south  of  the  Caucasos,  lo  is  to  find  her  way  to 
the  Tauric  Chersonese  (the  Crimea)  and  the  Kimmerian 
Bosporos,  which  flows  into  the  Sea  of  Azov,  and  so  to 
return  to  Asia. 

48.  Here,  as  in  a  hundred  other  instances,  a  false  ety- 
mology has  become  the  parent  of  a  myth.  The  name 
Bosporos  is  probably  Asiatic  not  Greek,  and  has  an  en- 
tirely different  signification. 

49.  The  lines  refer  to  the  story  that  Zeus  loved  Thetis 
the  daughter  of  Nereus,  and  followed  her  to  Caucasos, 
but  abstained  from  marriage  with  her  because  Prome- 
theus warned  him  that  the  child  born  of  that  union 


t\0tC6  69 


should  overthrow  his  father.  Here  the  future  is  used 
of  what  was  still  contingent  only.  In  the  lost  play  of  the 
Trilogy  the  myth  was  possibly  brought  to  its  conclu- 
sion and  connected  with  the  release  of  Prometheus. 

50.  Heracles,  whose  genealogy  was  traced  through 
Aicmena,  Perseus,  Danaii,  Danaos,  and  seven  other 
names  to  Epaphos  and  lo. 

51.  Probably  the  Kimmerian  Bosporos.  The  Tanais 
or  Phasis  has,  however,  been  conjectured. 

52  The  history  of  the  passage  in  brackets  is  curious 
enough  to  call  "for  a  note.  They  are  not  in  any  extant, 
but  they  are  found  in  a  passage  quoted  by  Galen  iv.  p. 
454)  as  from  the  Protneiheus  Bound,  and  are  inserted 
here  by  Mr.  Paley. 

53.  Kisthene  belongs  to  the  geography  of  legend, 
lying  somewhere  on  the  shore  of  the  great  ocean-river 
in  Lybia  or  Ethiopia,  at  the  end  of  the  world,  a  great 
mountain  in  the  far  West,  beyond  the  Hesperides,  the 
dwelling-place,  as  here,  of  the  Gorgons,  the  daughters 
of  Phorkys.     Those  first  named  are  the  Graiae. 

54.  Here,  like  the  "winged  hound"  of  v.  1043,  for  the 
eagles  that  are  the  messengers  of  Zeus. 

55.  We  are  carried  back  again  from  the  fabled  West 
to  the  fabled  East.  The  Arimaspians,  with  one  eye, 
and  the  Grypes  or  Grj-phons,  (the  griffins  of  mediaeval 
heraldry),  "quadrupeds  with  the  wings  and  beaks  of 
eagles,  were  placed  by  most  writers  (Herod,  iv.  13,  27) 
in  the  north  of  Europe,  in  or  beyond  the  terra  iyicoi^mta 
ofSkythia.  The  mention  of  the  "  ford  of  Pluto''  and 
.-Ethiopia,  however,  may  possibly  imply  (if  we  identify 
it,  as  Mr.  Paley  does,  with  the 'Tartessos  of  Spain,  or 
Bo^Hs— Guadalquivir)  that  ^schylos  followed  another 
legend  which  placed  them  in  the  West.  There  is  pos- 
sibly &  paronomasia  between  Pluto,  the  God  of  Hades, 
and  Plutos,  the  ideal  God  of  riches. 

56.  The  name  was  applied  by  later  writers  (Quintus 
Curtius,  iv.  7,  22;  Lucretius,  vi.  84S)  to  the  fountain  in 
the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon  in  the  great  Oasis.  The 
"  river  .Ethiops  "  may  be  purely  imaginary,  but  it  may 
also  suggest  the  possibility  of  some  vague  knowledge  of 
the  Niger,  or  more  probably  of  the  Nile  itself  in  the 
upper  regions  of  its  course.  The  "  Bybline  Hills  "  carry 
the  name  Bvblos  which  we  only  read  of  as  belonging  to 
a  town  in  the  Delta,  to  the  Second  Cataract. 


7o  IKlOtCS 

57.  Coinp.  Sophocles,  Trachin,  v.  1168. 

58.  The  Adriatic  or  Ionian  Gulf. 

59.  In  the  Suppliants,  Zeus  is  said  to  have  soothed 
her,  and  restored  her  to  her  human  consciousness  by  his 
"divine  breathings."  The  thought  underlying  the 
legend  may  be  taken  either  as  a  distortion  of  some  prim- 
itive tradition,  or  as  one  of  the  "unconscious  prophe- 
cies "  of  heathenism.  The  deliverer  is  not  to  be  born 
after  the  common  manner  of  men,  and  is  to  have  a 
divine  as  well  as  a  human  parentage, 

60.  See  the  argument  of  the  Suppltatits,  who,  as  the 
daughters  of  Danaos,  descended  from  Epaphos,  are  here 
referred  to.  The  passage  is  noticeable  as  showing  that 
the.  theme  of  that  tragedy  was  already  present  to  the 
poet's  thoughts. 

6r,  Argos.  So  in  the  Suppliants,  Pelasgos  is  the 
mythical  king  of  the  Apian  land  who  receives  them. 

62.  Hypermneestra,  who  spared  I^ynceus,  and  by  him 
became  the  mother  of  Abas  and  a  line  of  Argive  kings. 

63.  Heracles,  who  came  to  Caucasos,  and  with  his  ar- 
rows slew  the  eagle  that  devoured  Prometheus. 

64.  The  word  is  simply  an  interjection  of  pain,  but 
one  so  characteristic  that  I  have  thought  it  better  to 
reproduce  it  than  to  give  any  English  equivalent. 

65.  The  maxim,  "  Marry  with  a  woman  thine  equal," 
was  ascribed  to  Pittacos. 

66.  The  Kuphemerism  of  later  scholiasts  derived  the 
name  from  a  king  Adrastos,  who  was  said  to  have  been 
the  first  to  build  a  temple  to  Nemesis,  and  so  the  power 
thus  worshipped  was  called  after  his  name.  Abetter 
etymology  leads  us  to  see  in  it  the  idea  of  the  "  inevit- 
able "  law  of  retribution  working  unseen  by  men,  and 
independently  even  of  the  arbitrary  will  of  the. Gods, 
and  bringing  destruction  upon  the  proud  and  haughty. 

67.  Comp.  Agam.  162—6. 

68.  Either  a  mere  epithet  of  intensity,  as  in  our 
"thrice  blest,"  or  rising  from  the  supposed  fact  that 
every  third  wave  was  larger  and  more  impetuous  than 


•Rotes  71 


the  others,  like  the  fluctus  decumanus  of  the  Latins,  or 
from  the  sequence  of  three  great  waves  which  some 
have  noted  as  a  common  phenomenon  in  storms. 

69.  Here  again  we  have  a  strange  shadowing  forth  of 
the  mystery  of  Atonement,  and  what  we  have  learnt  to 
call  "vicarious  "  satisfaction.  In  the  later  legend,  Chei- 
ron,  suffering  from  the  agony  of  his  wounds,  resigns  his 
immortality,  and  submits  to  die  in  place  of  the  ever- 
living  death  to  which  Prometheus  was  doomed. 

70.  It  is  noticeable  that  both  ^schylos  and  Sopho- 
cles have  left  us  tragedies  which  end  in  a  thunderstorm 
as  an  element  of  effect.  But  the  contrast  between  the 
Ptomelheus  and  the  GLdipus  at  Colonos  as  to  the  impres- 
sion left  in  the  one  case  of  serene  reconciliation,  and  in 
the  other  of  violent  antagonism,  is  hardly  less  striking 
than  the  resemblance  in  the  outward  phenomena, 
which  are  common  to  the  two. 


Hrlcl  Boohlets 


Ariel  DooKlets 

ORDER 
NUMBER 

Abelard  and  Heloise.     Letters 95 

About  Children:  What  Men  and  Women  Have 

Said ii6 

About  Men:  What  Women  Have  Said  .  .  .  .114 
About  Women :  What  Men  Have  Said  .  .  .  .  iis 
Addison.     Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers     ...     94 

iEsop's  Fables 40 

Arabian  Nights.     6  vols 98-103 

Arnold.     Sweetness  and  Light 9 

Blake,  William.     Songs  of  Innocence  and  Songs 

of  Experience 150 

Bacon.     Some  of  the  Essays  of 58 

Bright,  John.     Speech  on  America 155 

Brown.     Rab   aad    His    Friends,    and    Marjorie 

Fleming 2 

Browne.     Religio  Medici 90 

Browning,  E.  B.  Sonnets  from  the  Portuguese  .  5 
Browning,    R.  Christmas  Eve,  and  Easter  Day     74 

Lyrics 10 

Pippa  Passes 128 

Bryant.     Thanatopsis,  Flood  of  Years,  etc.     .     .     12 

Butler.     Nothing  to  Wear 15 

Calverley.    Verses  and  Fly  Leaves 31 


ORDER 
NUMBER 

Carleton.     Wild  Goose  Lodge  and  Other  Irish 

Tales 77 

Carlyle.     Nibelungen  Lied 24 

Carove.     Story  without  an  End 46 

Carroll,  Lewis.     Alice  in  Wonderland    .     .     .     .136 
Hunting  of  the  Snark  and  Other 

Poems 137 

Through  the  Looking  Glass  and  What 

Alice  Found  There    ....     158 
Chassimo.     Peter  Schlemihl     ...  ...     67 

Chesney.     Battle  of  Dorking 64 

Chesterfield.     Letters  and  Maxims 66 

Cicero  and  Emerson.     On  Friendship     ....     54 
Coleridge.     Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner  ...     16 

Concerning  Friendship 85 

Curtis.     Our  Best  Society 4 

De  Maistre,  X.     A  Journey  Round  My  Room  .  151 
De  Montaigne,  Michel.     Education  of  Children  .  152 

De  Quiiicey.     Conversation 154 

Three  Essays *     .     63 

Dickens.     Christmas  Carol  ...c****43 
Cricket  on  the  Hearth  ......     44 

Drake.     Culprit  Fay 3 

Drummond,  Henry.     The  Greatest  Thing  in  the 

World 159 

Edgeworth.     Castle  Rackrent,  etc 78 

Emerson,  R.  W.    Essays  on  Character,  Heroism, 

and  Nature 140 

Epictetus 20 


ORDER 
NUMBER 

Ewing,  Julia  H.    A  Story  of  a  Short  Life    .     .     .  148 

Jackanapes 149 

Ferguson.     Father  Tom  and  the  Pope    ....     48 

Fouqu6.     Sintram 76 

Undine 84 

Franklin.     Autobiography 41 

Poor  Richard 42 

Froude,  James  Anthony.     The  Science  of  History  153 

Gaskell.     Cranford       33 

Gessa  Romanorum 65 

Gilbert.     Bab    Ballads.    2  vols 96-97 

Goldsmith.     Good  Natured  Man         8 

She  Stoops  to  Conquer 14 

Vicar  of  Wakefield 34 

Gray.     Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard.     ...     17 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  Lilliput 80 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  Brob^ingnag 8i 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  Laputa 82 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  the  Houyhnhnms  ....  83 
Hale,  E.  E.  The  Man  without  a  Country  .  .  .142 
Horace.     Odes.     English  Translation  and  Latin 

Text.     2  vols 143-144 

Ideals  of  the  Republic 30 

Irving.    Bracebridge  Hall.     2  vols.    .     .     .     1 21-12 2 
Knickerbocker's  New  York.    2  vols.  123-124 

Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow 28 

Old  Christmas 75 

Rip  Van  Winkle 29 

Sketch  Book.     2  vols 55-56 


ORDER 

NUMBER 

Irving.    Tales  of  a  Traveller.     2  vols.    .     .     125-126 

The  Alhambra.     2  vols 1 19-120 

James  I.  of  England.     Counterblaste  to  Tobacco     73 

Johnson.     Rasselas 36 

Keats.    Endjrmion 87 

Eve  of  St.  Agnes 26 

Kingsley,  Charles.     Greek  Heroes 131 

Lamb.    Essays  of  Elia.     2  vols 61-62 

Wit  and' Wisdom 38 

Lincoln,  A.     Stories  and  Sayings.     Collected  and 

edited  by  Henry  Llewellyn  Williams     .     .  14S 

Longfellow,  H.  W.     Evangeline 138 

Lover.     Barney  O'Reirdon,  etc 79 

Lowell.     Fable  for  Critics 68 

Lytton,  E.  Bulwer.     Richelieu 134 

The  Lady  of  Lyons     .     .     .135 

Macaulay.     Lays  of  Ancient  Rome 19 

Mahaffy,  John  P.     The  Art  of  Conversation    .     .141 

Marcus  Aurelius.     Thoughts 21 

Michael  Angelo.     Sonnets  of 53 

Milton.     Areopagitica 72 

L'AUegro  and  II  Penseroso .    .    .    .    .     11 

Munchausen.     Travels 39 

Mulock.     The  Adventures  of  a  Brownie .     .     .     .161 

The  Little  Lame  Prince 160 

Omar  Khayyam.     Rubaiyat 47 

Ouida.     Dog  of  Flanders 118 

The  Niirnberg  Stove 162 

PascaL     Thoughts 89 


ORDHR 
NUMBER 

Pater,  W.    Child  in  the  House Si 

Cupid  and  Psyche 130 

Penn.     Fruits  of  SoUtude.    2  vols 91-92 

Plato.   Apology  of  Socrates 59 

The  Phaedo 60 

Plumtre,    George,    Translated    by.     Prometheus 

Bound  of  Aeschylos 156 

Antigone  of  Sophocles i57 

Poe.     Gold  Bug i 

Poems 53 

The  Murders  in  the  Rue  Morgue    ...     146 
The  Purloined  Letter,  and  the  Pit  and  the 

Pendulum     ...  .  147 

Rochefoucauld.     Maxims 117 

Roosevelt.     True  Americanism 70 

Rossetti.     Blessed  Damozel 45 

House  of  Life 18 

Ruskin.     Crown  of  Wild  Olive 88 

Ideas  of  Truth 25 

King  of  the  Golden  River 27 

Sesame  and  Lilies 22 

Shakespeare.     As  You  Like  It 10 

Hamlet 113 

Julius  Caesar iii 

Macbeth 112 

Merchant  of  Venice 107 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream  .  .106 
Much  Ado  About  Nothing  .  .  .  105 
Romeo  and  Juliet no 


ORDER 

NUMBER 

Shakespeare.    Sonnets 37 

Tempest 104 

Twelfth  Night 109 

Sheridan.     Rivals •••  7 

School  for  Scandal 6 

Stephen.     Robert  Louis  Stephenson 57 

Sterne,  Laurence.     A  Sentimental  Journey     .     .129 

Stevenson,  R.  L.     A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses      .  139 

Virginibus  Puerisque     ...  69 

WiU  o'  the  MiU 86 

Swinburne,  A.  C.     Laus  Veneris  .     •    •     .     .     .127 

Tennyson.     In  Memoriam 93 

Princess «...  50 

Thackeray.     Charity  and  Humor 13 

Novels  by  Eminent  Hands      ...  32 

Rose  and  the  Ring 23 

Wilde,  Oscar.     Lady  Windermere's  Fan     .     .     .  132 

The  Ballad  of  Reading  Gaol    .     .  133 

Winthrop.    Love  and  Skates 49 

Word  for  the  Day 71 

Zschokke.     Tales 35 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

Ne-w  YorK   and  London 


RFT,       II       S       PAT      OFF 


BEGlON^L 


it 

000  002  634 


